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^ "'?r^>= /■ '^o ':^^^'~ .o'^'S. '^.^is^/^ ^f^^r 



^- ' . . s 



A SYSTEM 



OF 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY; 



CONTAINING A UESC K I I'T ION OF THE 



NATURAL FEATURES OF THE LAND AND WATER 



THE 



PHENOMENA OF THE ATMOSPHERE, 



AND THE 



DISTRIBUTION OF VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL LIFE. 

TO WHICH IS ADDED, 

A TREATISE 



ON THE 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE UiWED STATES. 

d/m. warren. 



c5^^^. 

AND ILLUSTRATED BY SEVERAL 

COPPER-PIRATE AND ELECTROTYPED MAPS AND CHARTS, 

DRAWN EXPRESSLY FOR THE WORK 

BY JAMES II. YOUNG. 



PHILADELPHIA: 

H. C W P E R T H W A I T & C 0. 

1856. 



Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by H. COWPEETHWAIT i; Co., in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the lyted Slates, 

for the Eastern District of Pennsgloania, 

STEBEOTIPED DT J. FiGAN. PRISTBD BY SMITH i PETERS. 



<^^'' 



b 



PUBLISHERS' ADVERTISEMENT. 



It was the tlesigu of the author, and the expectation of the puljlishers of this book, that it should form a part 
of Mitchell's Geographical Series, and it has been announced as Mitcliell's Physical Geograph}'. Circumstances, 
howcAer, which have occurred since that announcement, have rendered a change necessary, and it is presented to 
the public with less familiar names upon the title-page. The reasons which induced the preparation of the -work, 
and the names of the persons who have been engaged upon it, are stated in the Preface, to which the attention of the 
reader is respectfully invited. 

We have also to ask the indulgence of our friends for the long delay which has attended the publication of the 
present volume, — a dela}' which has been caused by circumstances entirely beyond our control. It would have been 
published, hoAvever, some time since, had it not been for the destruction, by fire, of the building in which an important 
part of our manufacturing Avas carried on, at a time when the work was ready for the press. 

We take this opportunity to express our thanks for the liberal support extended to our School Publications 
generally, and to ask for the present work so much patronage as its merits entitle it to receive. 

H. COWPEETHWAIT & Co. 

Philadelphia, June, 1856. 



(2) 



PREFACE. 



The admirable works of such writers as Hiimlioldt, Maury, Guyot, and Mrs. Somerviile, have obtained, in late years, a very wide 
I'irculation ; and the attention of the ])ublic, especially of teachers, seems to have been directed thereby to the science of Physical Geography. 
The brief allMsinns to this subject fcmnd in tlie ordinary text-books on Geography appear to have l)een considered far from satisfactory; and 
tlie desire has lieeu very u'enerally numifested, tliat a work, exclusively devoted to this sulijei't, siioiild be ])repared, adapted to the use 
of schools. 

The frequent expression of this desire Iiy many teachers induced Mr. D. M. Warren, one of the l)ubli^^■ers, to undertake the prejjaration 
of the present volume. He has derived much valual)le assistance in this labor from Mr. Arthur Sumner, of the Rhode Island State Normal 
School, at Providence; and from Mr. P. W. Bartlett, Principal of the Chapman Sclmol, Boston. 

The maps, which are specially designed to illustrate the text, were drawn by Mr. J.vmes H. Young, and have been engraved under his 
direct supervision. Mr. Young originally prepared all the matter, and drew all the maps illustrating Mitchell's Series of School 
Geographies; and to his critical accuracy and extensive geographical knowledge, the Compiler is indebted for many suggestions, which 
have materially increased the value of this book. Most of the engravings, which are also especially intended to ilhistrate the text, are 
from original designs by !Mr. Geoi!(1e G. White. 

The iirincipal authorities relied upon in the preparation of the present work, in addition to those already enumerated, have been the 
magniticent Folio Edition of Johnston's Physical Atlas, Ansted's Physical Geography, and the works of Petermann and ^lilner. The 
arrangement of the latter authors has been generally adopted in this volnme, and in some cases their language has been used. The articles 
on the Ocean, especially on the Currents and Navigation, would have been very imperfect without the aid oljtained ftxuu the investigations 
of Lieut. ]\Iaury, furnished to the world in his " Sailing Directions." Interesting deductions on the Winds of the Northern Hemisphere 
have been drawn from the work of Professor Coffin, published by the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Kane has kindly furnished the information 
by which we are enabled to designate on the map the location of his winter quarters, and the nearest point to the North Pole attained by his 
recent Expedition. The treatise on the Physical Geography of the United States is new, and entirely original in its arrangement. Much of 
the information on which it is based was obtained from the "Army Meteorological Register," and the "Eei>ort of the E.xplorations and 
Surveys for tlie Pacilic Railroad." 

It is believed that no subject of instruction will be more attractive to the young, or better fitted to elevate and expand the mind, than that 
of Physical Geograidiy. It treats of the imtural adaptation of the earth for the abode of man ; — it describes the diversities of the surface of the 
o-lobc — its divisions of land and water, its mountains and plains; — it draws our attention to the atmosphere, and explains that wonderful 
process, invisiVile to ns, by which the water of the ocean is lifted into the air, thence to be distributed over the land to form lakes and rivers, 
and to give life to vegetation, which in its turn sustains animal life. In short, to use the language of another, (Alexander Keith Johnston,) 
" Physical Geography is the history of Nature presented in its most attractive form, the exponent of the wonders which the Almighty Creator 
has scattered so profusely around us." 

It would be presumptuous to state, that, in a work like this, embracing so great a variety of subjects, and comprising such a multiplicity 
of facts, gathered from numerous and often conflicting authorities, no error will be found. Much care has been taken to test the accuracy 
of every statement ; but should any errors be discovered, the author will gratefully acknowledge the kindness of his friends who may furnish 
him the information bv which tliev niav be corrected. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Chapter Pairc 
INTRODUCTORY— DEFINITIONS 5 

PART I. 

GEOLOGY. 

L— GENERAL STRUCTURE OF THE LAND S 

II.— CONTINENTS 10 

III.— ISLANDS 11 

IV.— MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS 13 

v.— PLATEAUS, OR TABLE-LANDS 16 

VI.— PLAINS 18 

VII.— VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES 21 

PART II. 
HYDROGRAPHY. 

I.— SPRINGS 27 

IL— RIVERS 28 

III.— LAKES 31 

IV.-THE OCEAN 32 

v.— OCEANIC MOVEMENTS — WAVES, TIDES, AND CURRENTS 33 

PART III. 

METEOROLOGY. 

I.— THE ATMOSPHERE 39 



Chapter Page 

II.— TEMPERATURE 40 

III.— THE WINDS 12 

IV.— MOISTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE — DEW, FOGS, RAIN, SNOW, 

AND HAIL 48 

v.— CLIMATE 54 

VL— ELECTRICAL AND OPTICAL PHENOMENA.. 57 



PART IV. 
ORGANIC LIFE. 

L— BOTANICAL GEOGRAPHY 60 

IL— ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY 66 

IIL— ETHNOGRAPHY 73 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED 

STATES. 

L— GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION AND EXTENT — PENINSULAS, CAPES, 

AND ISLANDS 78 

II.— MOUNTAINS 79 

III.— GENERAL SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY SO 

IV.— RIVERS AND LAKES 82 

v.— CLIMATE, RAINFALL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 84 

VI.— MINERALOGY 86 



INDEX TO THE MAPS AND CHARTS. 



Page 

GEOLOGY. 

1. Map exhibiting the Mountain Chains of Central Europe, Western 

Asia, and Northern Africa 15 

2. Chart exhibiting the Continents, Islands, Chief Mountain Ranges, 

and other Ditersities of the Land Surface of the Earth 21 

3. Chart of the Mountains, Plains, Ac, of India 21 

4. Chart of the Principal Mountains, Plains, &c., of South America 21 

5. Chart showing the Distribution of the Principal Active Volcanoes, 

AND the Regions visited by Earthquakes 26 

HYDROGRAPHY. 

6. Tidal Chart of the AVorld, showing the Progress of the Wave of 

High Water prosi East to West 35 

7. Hydrographic Chart of the World, exhibiting the Principal River 

Basins, the Ocean, and. Oceanic Currents 38 

8. The Connection of the Orinoco and Amazon by the River Cassiquiape, 38 

9. Chart exhibiting the Depth of the Atlantic Ocean, on the Coast of 

the United States and the West Indies 38 



METEOROLOGY. 

10. Chart showing the Distribution of the Winds over the Surface of 

THE Earth; also the Regions subject to Storms 47 



Page 

11. Chart of the Distribution of Rain and Snow over the Surface of the 

Earth 53 

12. Rain Chart of India 53 

13. Sketch of a Part of the Glacier of Chasiouni .- 53 

14. Climatic Chart, showing, by Isothermal Lines, the Mean Annual Tem- 

perature OF the Different Parts of the Earth's Surface 56 



ORGANIC LIFE. 

15. Chart showing the Distribution of the Most Important Trees, Grains, 

and Fruits, according to Zones of Climate and Moisture 64 

16. Distribution of Plants in a A'^ertical Direction 64 

17. Chart showing the Geographical Distribution of the Principal 

Mammalia 69 

IS. Chart showing the Geographical Distribution of the Principal Birds 

and Reptiles 71 

19. Ethnographic Chart of the World, showing the Distribution and 

Varieties of the Human Race 77 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED 
STATES. 

20. Physical Map of the United States, showing its Mountain,?, Plains, 

Rivers, Isothermal Lines, Ac S7 



(4) 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



INTRODUCTORY. — DEFINITIONS. 



I. GEOGRAPHY is a description of the Earth. 

The term is derived from two Greek words, signifying " the earth," and 
" to describe," and the great variety of subjects comprehended in this general 
definition may be considered under the three divisions of Mathematical, 
Physical, and Political Geography. 

II. Mathematical Geography treats of the form, size, ami 
motions of the earth ; of its position among the other bodies of 
the universe, its divisions by circles, and the representations of 
the whole or portions of its surface on globes or maps. 

III. Physical Geography treats of the natural divisions of 
land and water, the phenomena of the atmosphere, and the dis- 
tribution and arrangement of organic life. 

IV. Political Geography treats of the extent and popula- 
tion of different countries, and the civil and social condition 
of tlicir inhabitants. 



MATHEMATICAL GEOGRAPHY. 

I. The Earth is that planet which we inhabit. 

1. It is variously denominated terrestrial bull, sji/iere, and r/lobe, the terms 
having reference to its form. The form of the earth, in popular language, 
is expressed as round. More correctly speaking, however, its shape is that 
of an oblate spheroid — a ball bulging out in the middle, and flattened at 
the two opposite sides. 




Illustration of one of the proofs that the earth is nearly round. 

The proofs that the earth is nearly round are: 1. The tops of the masts 
of a ship coming into harbor are always seen before the hull. 2. Navigators 

Questions. ^Wliat is Geography? — Under what three divisions may the subject be 
considered ? — Of what does Mathematical Geography treat? — Physical Geography? — - 
Political Geography ? 

What is the earth? — State some of the names by which it is called. — "What is its 
correct form ? — Give some of the proofs of the rotundity of the earth. 



starting from a given port, and sailing constantly in the same direction, 
have at length arrived at the place from which they started ; and .3. The 
sh.adow cast by the earth on tlie moon is always circular. 

That the earth is slightly flattened at the opposite sides has been 
demonstrated by eminent French and English astronomers, from measure- 
ments of an arc of a meridian at different stations on the globe. The length 
of a degree was found to increase as they approached the poles. Any part 
of the circumference of a circle is called an arc. 

2. The circumference of the earth is about 25,000 miles; its diameter is 
about 8000 miles. In exact numbers, the equatorial circumference of the 
earth is 24,899 miles. The equatorial diameter, carefully computed, is 
41,849,548 feet, equal to about 7926 miles. The polar diameter is 41,709,642 
feet, equal to about 7899J miles. It will thus be seen that the distance 
through the earth from East to West, owing to the flattening at the poles, is 
2(ji miles greater than the distance through it from North to South. 

o. The earth has two motions — the (laili/am\ the i/rarli/, — both of which 
are from AVest to East. The daily motion of the earth is its revolution on its 
axis, causing day and night; the yearly motion is its revolution round the 
sun, causing the succession of seasons. 

The axis of the earth is an imaginary line passing through its centre 
from North to South, and is the diameter on which the earth is supposed to 
turn. The northern extremity of the axis is the North Pole — the southern 
extremity the South Pole. 

Until the beginning of the sixteenth century, it was generally supposed 
that the earth was stationary, and that the heavenly bodies revolved about 
it once in 24 hours. That the earth, on the contrary, revolves, is demon- 
strable by astronomy; that this is highly probable, apart from scientific 
proof, appears from the following consideration : 1st. No other suppositiim 
accounts for the bulging of the earth at the equator; the centrifugal motion, 
iis revolutions upon its own axis, would produce this eS'ect. 2d. A stone, 
dropped from the top of a high perpendicular tower, will always fall a short 
distance to the east of the base ; the stone has the motion of the top of the 
tower, which moves more rapidly than the base. 3d. This supposition alone 
will account for the equatorial current and the trade winds. At the equator, 
the rotary velocity of the earth is about lUOO miles an hour. 

The annual motion of the earth round the sun is conclusively proved 
by astronomical observations of the phenomena known as aberration of 
light. 

The succession of the seasons is the result of the annual revolution 
of the earth round the sun, and of the inclination of the earth's axis to the 
plane of the ecliptic. The angle of inclination is about 23i degrees. It 
thus follows that the axis of the earth, though it always points in the same 
direction, is at every period of its progress around the ecliptic, assuming a 
difierent position towards the sun. 

Twice in the year, on the 21st of March and 23d of September, the axis 
is perpendicular to the direction of the sun's rays ; these are the equinoxes, 
(equal nights). On the 21st of June, the North Pole leans towards the sun, 
bringing the Northern Hemisphere the most under the influence of his rays. 
On the 21st of December the South Pule leans towards the sun, bringing the 
Southern Hemisphere the most under this influence; these points in the 
ecliptic are called the solstices, (sun stands). 

QcESTioNS. — State the evidence of the earth's being tlattened at the poles. — What is 
the e.\tentof the circumference of the earth? — Of the diamelerof the earth? — How many 
motions has the earth, and what are they ? — What is the axis of the earth ? 

State some of the reasons which render it probable the earth revolves ? — What con- 
clusively proves the annual revolution of the earth ? — Explain the succession of seasons 

(5) 



INTRODUCTORY. 



The explanation given on the preceding page will be more clearly under- 
stood by an examination of the annexed diagram. 




On the 21st of March, one half of both the Northern and Southern 
Hemispheres is turned towards the sun, and the days and nights are of equal 
length throughout the entire globe. As the earth continues its revolution 
round the sun, from March 21st to June 21st, the North Pole is more and 
more turned towards the sun, and the South Pole is in consequence farther 
turned from it. The longest day in the Northern Hemisphere, and shortest 
day in the Southern, is the 21st of June. It is then mid-summer in the 
Northern Hemisphere, while it is mid-winter in the Southern. 

As the earth still continues its course, the length of a d.ay in the Northern 
Hemisphere decreases, and in the Southern it increases, until on the 23d 
of September the days and nights are again of equal length. It is then 
autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, and spring in the Southern. 

As the earth still further continues its course, from the 23d of September 
to the 21st of December, the South Pole is more turned towards the sun, 
and in consequence the North Pole is turned from it. The longest day in 
the Southern Hemisphere, and shortest in the Northern, is the 21st of 
December. It is then mid-summer south of the equator, and mid-winter 
north of it. 

From the 21st of December to the 21st of March, the days increase in 
length in the Northern Hemisphere, and decrease in the Southern, until on 
March 21st they are again equal. It is then spring in the Northern Hemi- 
sphere, and autumn in the Southern. 

The ecliptic is the orbit in which the earth revolves round the sun. It 
is so called because it is the circle in which eclipses occur. It is the path in 
which the sun appears to move round the earth. 

The velocity of the earth, in its revolution round the sun, is about 1200 
miles an hour. 





Parallels. 



Equator, Tropics, and Polar Circles. 



4. For purposes of geographical description, imaginary lines are em- 
ployed, which divide the earth into different secticms. These are the equator, 
the meridians, the parallels, and the polar circles. 

The equator and meridians divide the earth into equal parts, and are 



Explain the diagram. — What is the ecliptic ? — How great is the velocity of the earth 
m its revolution round the sun ? 

Fur what purpose are imaginary lines employed ? — Name these lines. 



called great circles. The tropics, polar circles, and parallels divide the 
earth into unequal parts, and are called small circles. Every circle is 
divided into 360 equal parts, called degrees. The length of a degree, on 
a great circle, is about 09 miles ; on small circles, the length of a degree 
varies with the size of the circle. 

Geographers have adopted the measure of a degree, because the length 
of a mile varies in different countries. A German mile, for example, is equal 
to more than four English miles. 

The equator encircles the earth from east to west, at equal distances from 
the poles. Tiie tropics, polar circles, and parallels are small circles extending 
round the earth, parallel with the equator. There are two tropics and two 
polar circles; the number of parallels is unlimited. The Tropic of Cancer 
is 23* degrees north of the equator; the Tropic of Capricorn 233 degrees 
south of it. The Arctic circle is 23i degrees south of the North pole ; the 
Antarctic circle 23} degrees north of the South Pole. The Meridians are 
groat circles extendiug round the earth north and south, through the poles; 
their number is unlimited. 





Meridians. 



Zones. 



5. Zones are divisions of the earth's surface, formed by the tropics and 
polar circles. They are five in number — two Frigid, two Temperate, and 
one Torrid. The North Frigid Zone is north of the Arctic Circle ; the 
South Frigid, south of the Antarctic Circle ; the North Temperate Zone is 
between the Arctic Circle and Tropic of Cancer; the South Temperate 
between the Tropic of Capricorn and Antarctic Circle ; the Torrid Zone is 
between the Tropics. 

6. The Latitude and Longitude of a place being known, it is easy to 
determine its relative position and distance from other places. Latitude is 
distance from the equator, north or south. Longitude is distance from any 
given meridian, east or west. 

Places north of the equator are in North Latitude ; those south of it in 
South Latitude. The distance from the equator to the poles is 90 degrees ; 
Latitude, therefore, can never exceed 90 degrees. Latitude is measured on 
great circles (meridians), therefore the length of a degree must be about 
C9 miles. If a place is said to be in 10 degrees North Latitude, it is under- 
stood to be 10 degrees north of the equator, or about 690 miles from it; ^nd 
a line encircling the earth from east to west, passing through this place, is 
the 10th parallel of Latitude. 

Different nations usually reckon Longitude from the meridians of the 
capitals of their own countries. Thus, on French maps. Longitude is 
reckoned from the meridian of Paris. On the maps in this book. Longitude 
is computed from the meridian of Greenwich, in England. A line passing 
round the earth, through Greenwich and the North and South poles, is the 
meridian of Greenwich. All places east of this line are in East Longitude; 
all west of it, in West Longitude. A degree of Longitude may be measured 
on any circle extending east and west. On the equator, its length is the 
same as a degree of Latitude, or 69 miles ; proceeding from the equator 
towards the poles, it diminishes with the size of the circles. On the 30th 
parallel, it is 00 miles ; on the 60th parallel, 34J miles. Longitude is com- 
puted 180 degrees in each direction. 

Kute. — As many of the principles in this treatise have reference to the 
foregoing definitions, it is recommended that they be carefully perused 
before commencing the chapters which follow. 

Why have geographers adopted the measure of a degree ? — What is the Equator? — 
What are the Tropics, Polar Circles, and Parallels? — What are the Meridians? 
What are Zones? — How many arc there? — What is Latitude ? — Longitude? 



PHYSICAL G ]-: G R A P H Y 



The matter of wliicli the Earth is composed is collected into a mass of the form of an orange, or an ol)late splieroi<l. Its outsiih 
part, or surface, is composed of land and water. Surrounding the earth, and c.\ten<ling to the licight of about 4r) miles, is the 
atmosphere. Physical Geography treats of the natural features and laws of the land, the water, the atmosphere, and of the plants 
and animals which belong to the globe. These subjects will be examined in this work under the general divisions of: — Ist. Geology, 
or a description of the land ; 2d. Hydrography, or a description of the water ; od. Meteorology, or a description of the atmosphere 
and its phenomena; 4th. Organic Life, or the arrangement and distribution of vegetable and animal life. 




'"'"'■«' lirMgo in Vi«'°^*' 



' • tt I \, t \ar ' 



Ciants'Cauee""!' 



TAUT 1. 



GEOLOGY. 



Geology is that department of Physical Geography which 
treats of the natural features of the land of the Earth, The 
subject will be considered under the several divisions of: — 
1. General Structure of the Land ; 2. Continents ; 3. Islands ; 
4. Mountains and Valleys ; 5. Plateaus, or Table-lands ; G. Plains ; 
and 7. Volcanoes and Earthquakes. 



Stiite the subjects of which Physical Geography treats? — Under what general 
divisions will these subjects be examined ? 



The science of Gcologi/ jiroj'C}- treats of the formation and 
general structure of the Earth beneath the surface, and of the 
changes the globe has undergone ; but as a department of Physical 
Geography, the signification of the term is limited to a descrip- 
tion of the more immediate land-surface of the globe, as the form 
of the land and the diversities of its surface. 

Of what does Geology treat? — Under what general divisions will the subject bi' 
considered ? — Of what dues the science of Oeoh>'/i/ jn-opcr treat ? 



PHYSICAL GEOGKAPIIY 



CHAPTER I. 

GENERAL STRUCTURE OF THE LAND. 

I. The sxibject of which this chapter treats, strictly speaking, 
belongs to the science of Geology, and not to Physical Geogra- 
phy ; but before proceeding to the consideration of the form of 
the land and the diversities of its surface, some knowledge of its 
general structure will be found useful. 

II. The various substances which constitute the Earth may bo 
divided into simple and compound. A simple substance, or ele- 
ment, is one which cannot be separated into other component parts. 
A compound substance is formed by the combination of two or 
more simple substances or elements. 

The entire number of elements yet discovered is sixty-one, of wliich only 
fourteen are found in nature in a pure state, and these occur rarely, and in 
very limited quantities. Gold, silver, and copper are elements, generally 
found combined with other substances, but frequently discovered in a pure, 
unmixed state. Granite and limestone are compound substances. 

Nearly all the matter of the globe is composed of different combinations 
of eighteen of these elements ; and no mailer pertaining to ths earth, no part 
of the land or water, no particle of air, no plant or animal, has yet been 
discovered, which, on being submitted to the analysis of the chemist, is not 
found to be composed of one, or some combination of two or more of the 
sixty-one elements first mentioned. 

III. On and immediately below the surface of the land will be 
found, generally speaking, loose or unconsolidated materials, 
which are called earths. The first in order, usually occupying 
the immediate surface, is composed principally of decayed vege- 
table and animal substances, and is called vegetable mould. 

IV. The other earths are composed principally of particles 
which have been worn oiF by the atmosphere, the winds, and the 
rain, from the solid rocks which form the crust of the earth. 
These are called mineral earths, and bear the names respectively 
of the minerals which enter most largely into their composition. 

Thus, when earths are composed principally of silex, or flint, they are 
called silicious earths (sand is an example) ; when of calx, or lime, calca- 
reous earths ; and when of argilla, or clay, argillaceous earths. 

If there were only silicious earth there could be no vegetation, for it is 
too porous to retain the moisture. Sandy deserts are examples of tracts of 
land composed almost wholly of silicious earth. Calcareous earth is too 
dry and hot for vegetation, and argillaceous earth is too wet and cold. 
When these earths, however, are mixed together in due proportions, they 
correct and improve each other, and form the fertile soil of our gardens and 
fields. Sand corrects the stiffness of clayey land, and lime adds to its 
warmth. 

Without sand, no glass could be made ; nor could houses of brick or stone 
be built, for sand is a necessary ingredient in mortar. Without clay, ^ye 
should have no springs ; for beds of clay, or clayey rocks, alone arrest the 
downward progress of the water which falls in rain, thus forming the reser- 
voirs from which springs flow. 

V. The wearing away of solid rocks, by the influences already 
enumerated, is not confined exclusively to the particles which 
form mineral earths. Large fragments are frequently broken oif, 
from which are formed the gravel, pebbles, and rounded stones 



that are seen on the sea-shore, and in the beds of rivers. At 
first, these fragments are rough, but when subjected to the rolling 
of waves on the beach, or to the action of running water in 
rivei's, by rubbing and grinding against each other, they become 
smooth and rounded. 

VI. After diggina; through the different earths which lie at the 
surface, we come to hard or consolidated materials, which are 
called rocks. These rocks form what is called the " crust of the 
earth," and, generally speaking, they are of the same materials 
as the earths we have just described : the only difi"erence being, 
that in the earths the materials are loose, or unconsolidated ; and 
in the rocks, hard, or consolidated. 

Popularly, the term " rock" is applied only to the more compact and solid 
portions of the globe, but geologically it extends to every formation ; to the 
loose s.ands, gravels, and clays, as well as to the limestones and granites. 

Our positive knowledge of the formations constituting the interior of the 
earth is very limited, the labors of the miner having extended to but com- 
paratively a short distance below the surface of the earth, and scarcely 2000 
feet below the level of the sea. 

The greatest depth below the level of the sea yet reached by man is 
probably the bore of the new salt works, at Minden, Prussia; which, in 
June, 1844, reached the depth of 1993 feet, or, from the mouth of the mine, 
2231 feet. Probably the deepest mine in the world, though not now worked, 
is that of Kuttenberg, in Bohemia, which has an absolute depth of 3778 feet. 
It does not, however, extend so far below the level of the sea as that of 
Minden. The deepest mine in America is the silver-mine of Valenoiana, 
near Guanasuato, in Mexico, which has a depth of 1887 feet ; yet the bottom 
of this mine is more than 5000 feet above the level of the sea. 

VII. All rocks may be classified — 

1. As Stratified, or Unstratified ; 

2. As Fossiliferous, or Non-fossil iferous ; 

3. As Igneous, Metamorphic, or Aqueous. 

VIII. Stratified rocks are found in the regular form of beds or 
layers, varying in depth from the thickness of a sheet of paper 
to many feet. These beds are sometimes arranged horizontally, 
but oftener inclined at various angles to the horizon. This class 
of rocks is estimated to occupy about nine-tenths of the land 
surface of the earth, and to have an average depth of eight or 
ten miles. 




W^hat is a simple substance ? — What is a compound substance ? — What name is given 
to the soil which occupies the immediate surface ? — What are mineral earths ? — Describe 
silicious earths. — Calcareous earths. — Argillaceous earths. — Could there be iiny vegeta- 
tion if there were only silicious earth? — AA^hy 
there were no silicious earth ? 



Stratified and Unstratified Rocks. 



IX. Unstratified rocks are irregular masses, the lowest of all 
rocks, forming the basis or bed on which the others rest. But 
while they thus form this basis or bed, they are frequently pressed 
up through the stratified rocks, constituting in many places the 



What difference do you observe between the substances at the surface of the earth 
and those below it? — What is the difference between the popular and geological signi- 
fication of the term "rock?" — How far below the surface does our knowledge of the 
Of what should we be deprived if j formations extend ? — How may all rocks be classified ? — What nre stratified rocks ? — 

What are unstratified rocks ? 



GENERAL STRUCTURE OF THE LAND. 



9 



summits of lofty mountains. They do not probalily occupy more 
than one-tenth part of the earth's surface, but we have reason to 
suppose they constitute the internal parts of the globe to a great 
depth. 

Vn. Fossiliferous rocks contain, in a petrified state, the re- 
mains of plants and animals, sometimes in small, but often in 
enormous quantities. The fossiliferous rocks are stratified. A 
part of the non-fossiliferous rocks arc stratified — a part fire 
unstratified. 

1. Prof. Hitchcock infers that two-thirds of the surface of the existing 
continents are composed of fossiliferous rocks, and they are often several 
thousand feet in thickness. The quantity of microscopic shells discovered 
by the great Prussian naturalist, M. Elirenberg, in rocks of this formation, 
is most wonderful. Shells not larger than a grain of sand form entire 
mountains. In one place in Germany he discovered a bed fourteen feet 
thick, made up of the shells of minute animals, so small that he estimated 
that forty millions of them would be required to form a cubic inch. 

2. The quantity of fossil remains is so great, that with the exception of 
the metals, and some of the older rocks, probably not a particle of matter 
exists on the surface of the earth that has not at some time formed part of a 
living creature. 

VIII. Igneous rocks, or those which are supposed to owe their 
origin to fire, are sub-divided into Plutonic and Volcanic rocks. 
They are unstratified and non-fossiliferous. 

1. Plutonic rocks, it is supposed, were formed of melted matter, cooled 
and consolidated at a great depth, and under an enormous pressure, and 
then thrown up by the elastic force of internal heat. Volcanic rocks are the 
products of ancient volcanic eruptions. 

2. Granite and its varieties constitute the principal plutonic rocks. 
Basalts and green-stone are among the principal volcanic rocks. From their 
frequent arrangement in the form of steps, they are often called " trap 
rocks," from the Swedish trappa, " a stair." Fing.al's Cave and the Giant's 
Causeway are familiar examples. 




FiDgal'a Cave. 

3. The theory of the igneous formation of rocks, of which we have positive 
proof by observation in the case of volcanic rooks, pre-supposos the earth to 
have been originally in a melted state, and that its centre now, excluding a 
crust only from 20 to 50 miles in thickness, is a sea of fire. Additional 
evidence of this is found in the fiict, that the temperature of the earth 
regularly increases one degree for every 54 feet of descent beneath its 
surface. At this rate of increase, a heat sufficient to melt all known rocks 
would be reached at a depth of between 40 and 50 miles. 

.Describe the Foseiliferous rocks. — Into what two classes are Igneous rocks divided ? 
Of wliat is it supposed Plutonic rocks were formed? — Of what .are volcanic rocks 
the products ? 

AVhat does the theory of the igneous formation of rocks presuppose? 
2 



IX. Metaniiir[iliic rocks are supposed to have been formed in 
regular beds or layers, of the sediment of water, but having been 
deposited near the place where plutonic rocks were generated, 
their character has been changed by the immense heat, and they 
have become as highly crystallized as granite itself, without losing 
their regular form. They are stratified, and non-fossiliferous. 

1. Gneiss, a very common rock in some parts of the United States, espe- 
cially in New England, and often so nearly resembling granite, as hardly to 
be distinguished from it even by a practised eye, is a metamorphic rock. 

X. Aqueous rocks appear to have been formed by the gradual 
deposit of sedimentary matter in water, which has become more 
or less hardened into solid rocks. They are stratified and 
fossiliferous. 

1. They are variously subdivided by different geologists with reference to 
their age, and the depth at which they are found from the surface, into 
numerous groups and orders. Groups found at the greatest depth, and 
containing the remains of the earliest formed animals, arc regarded as the 
oldest ; those containing the remains of animals similar to those now living, 
are deemed to be of the most recent formation. 

2. Aqueous rocks constitute by far the greatest portion of the exposed 
crust of the earth. The various kinds of soils, griivels, sands, clays, lime- 
stone, coal, sandstone, and some slates, are the principal rocks of this class. 

XI. All stratified rocks maintain a regular order of succession ; 
that is, if an older rock is at the surface, we may be assured none 
of later formation is underneath it. Thus, no geologist would 
expect to find beds of coal underneath strata of talcose slate, 
the latter being an older formation ; yet this slate has been 
bored into, at great labor and with much expense, in search 
for coal. 

XII. The crust of the earth is undergoing incessant change. 
The atmosphere, the ocean, and rivers, are agents constantly 
acting upon the land, and removing its particles into the sea ; 
while, as if to compensate for this gradual wearing away of the 
land, at intervals of time, volcanic eruptions elevate enormous 
masses of matter, sometimes forming new islands in the midst of 
the ocean. Yet these changes are trivial, compared with those 
which geology teaches us must have taken place to fit the earth 
for the abode of man. 

XIII. Recapitulation. — It will thus be seen that the matter 
of which the earth is composed, is constituted of a comparatively 
limited number of simple elements ; — 

That the crust of the earth is composed of rocks arranged, 
according to their form and position, into stratified, lying in 
horizontal or inclined layers, and unstratified, lying nearest the 
centre ; — 

According to their character, into fossiliferous, containing or- 
ganic remains of plants and animals ; and non-fossiliferous, con- 
taining no such remains, — 

And according to their origin, into Igneous, formed by the 
direct agency of fire ; Metamorphic, formed by internal heat and 
pressure ; and Aqueous, formed by deposits of sedimentary matter 
in water. 

It will also be seen that the crust of the earth is undergoing 
constant changes. 

now are Metamorphic rocks supposed to have been formed? — How do Aqueous 
rocks appear to have been formed ? 

What is said of the order of succession maintained by Aqueous rocks? — What of the 
changes going on in the crust of the earth ? — Recapitulate the subjects of this chapter. 



10 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



CHAPTER II. 

CONTINENTS. 

I. Continents, of wliicli there are only two on the earth, are 
those great masses of connected land, one of which occurs in the 
Eastern and one in the "Western Hemisphere. They differ from 
islands only in their greater extent, both being entirely sur- 
rounded by water. 

1. The island of Australia, on account of its great size, is, by some geo- 
graphers, regarded as a continent. It is generally ranked, however, among 
islands. 

2. On many maps of the world, constructed in the interval of time between 
the discovery of the South Seas and their navigation by Captain Cook, an 
immense continent, stretching out from the South Pole, and filling the 
Antarctic regions, figures under the name of Terra Australls Incognita, 
(unknown southern land). No evidence of the existence of such a con- 
tinent could be adduced, but speculative geographers believed that such a 
mass of land must exist in these regions, to balance the greater known 
quantity of the Northern Hemisphere. 

The researches of Captain Cook banished the dreams of those who 
expected to find here habitable countries, but left unsettled the question 
whether there might not be vast tracts of land in the frozen regions near 
the South Pole. This question was settled by the United States' Exploring 
Expedition in 1840, and the British Expedition in 1841, and the existence 
of such tracts was satisfactorily proved. But it has not yet been determined 
whether the respective districts are continuous, so as to form what may be 
called an Antarctic continent. 

3. In the Northern Hemisphere, Greenland, now known not to be a part 
of the main land of America, may be the projection of an Arctic continent 
extending around the North Pole. 

II. The great Eastern continent extends through upwards of 
two hundred degrees of longitude, from Cape Verd, the most 
westerly point of Africa, 17° 33' west, to East Cape, the eastern 
extremity of Asia, 190° east (170° west). It embraces upwards 
of a hundred and ten degrees of latitude, from Cape Severe 
Vostochnoi, in Siberia, 78° 16' north, to Cape Agulhas,S. E.of 
the Cape of Good Hope, 84° 50' south. Its area may be stated at 
about 31,000,000 square miles. 

III. This continent has a maritime coast-line of more than 
60,000 miles, and attains its greatest elevation in Central Asia, 
the land here reaching the enormous height of nearly five and a 
half miles, the culminating point of the globe. Its greatest 
depression is the shore of the Dead Sea, which, at the water 
level, is more than 1300 feet below the surface of the Mediter- 
ranean Sea. 

1. Of the three divisions of the continent, Europe comprises somewhat 
less than one-eighth of its entire area, Africa more than one-third, and Asia 
more than one-half. Africa is about three times, and Asia more than four 
times, the size of Europe. 

2. Africa, the south-western member of the continent, difi'ers in many 
respects from the other portions. Externally, a comparatively unbroken 
coast-line ; and, in the interioi-, a deficient water communication, and great 
deserts, mark the contrast. Asia and Europe exhibit repeated examples of 
deeply-indented shores, and both are abundantly supplied with great river 
systems. 

IV. The Western continent, inferior in size, extends through 
upwards of a hundred and thirty degrees of longitude, from 

What are contiDents ? — Describe the great Eastern Continent. — Its highest eleva- 
tion.— Its greatest depression.— State the extent of its coast-line. — What portion of its 
area does Europe comprise? — Africa? — Asia? — In what respects does Africa differ 
from Europe and Asia ? 



Cape St. Roque, in Brazil, 35° west, to Cape Prince of Wales, 
the most westerly point of North America, 168° west. It em- 
braces upwards of one hundred and twenty degrees of latitude, 
from Point Barrow, the most northern point of North America, 
72° north, to the Straits of Magellan, 54° south. Its entire area 
may be stated at about 14,500,000 square miles. 

V. This continent has a maritime coast-line of about 37,500 
miles. Its greatest elevation is nearly four and a half miles, a 
mile below the culminating point of the Eastern continent. Of 
the two divisions of the continent, North and South America, the 
former comprises about five-ninths of its area. The entire con- 
tinent is less in extent than Asia, and hardly equal to Africa ana 
Europe combined. 

VI. A striking dissimilarity appears in the general contour or 
outline of the two continents. In the Eastern continent, the 
prevailing direction of the land is from east to west, or, more 
correctly, south-west to north-east. In the Western continent 
it is directly the reverse, or from south-east to north-west. 

VII. The Western continent exhibits a simpler outline than 
the Eastern. Its maritime coast has a less proportion of inden- 
tations, none of consequence appearing on the Pacific coast, 
except the Gulf of California. The eastern sea-board of South 
America is also comparatively unbroken. 

1. Of all the divisions of the globe, Europe is most deeply indented by 
seas, bays, and gulfs. This is strikingly shown in the following table, 
which exhibits the area, the extent of coast-line, and the proportion of 
square miles of surface to one mile of coast for each of the gram? 
divisions : — 



Name of Divisions. 


Area in Square Miles. 


Extent of Coastrline. 


Proportion of Sq. Miles 
of surface to one mile 
of Coast-line. 




3,760,000 

7,980,000 

6,500,000 

16,300,000 

10,930,000 


17,000 
24,000 
13,500 
31,000 
14,000 


221 
332 
481 
526 
781 


North America .... 
South America .... 

Asia 

Africa 




View of Cape Horn. 

VIII. The two continents have some points of resemblance. 

Both terminate in pointed projections towards the south. 
America, with the rocky precipices of Cape Horn ; Africa, with 

Describe the Western Continent. — Its highest elevation. — State the extent of its 
coast-line. — How do its two divisions compare in size? 

State some of the points of dissimilarity between the two Continents. — In which 
division is the coast-line most deeply indented? 



ISLANDS, 



11 



its Table Mountain rising to the height of about 3500 feet. Their 
limits to the north have nearly the same latitude, generally that 
of about 70 degrees. And an important member of eaeli conti- 
nent is almost isolated : a narrow isthmus connecting Africa with 
Asia, and uniting North and S mth America. 

1. Descending to detail, we find the northerly projection of the Peninsula 
of Jutland repeated in the Peninsula of Yucatan, in Central America, the 
only important exceptions to the southerly direction of peninsulas. The 
deep bend in the western coast of South America, south-west of Peru, is 
repeated in Africa by the Gulf of Guinea. 

2. East of the southern part of each continent is a large island, or group 
of islands: .as M.adagascar, east of Africa — and the Falkland Islands, east 
of South America. The remark.able fiords or crevices of the coast of Nor- 
way, are repeated on the south-west coast of South America. 

IX. Comparing the two sides of the Atlantic Basin, a mutual 
disposition to unite may be observed in the advancing and retreat- 
ing nature of the coast-lines of the land. The great projection 
of Western Africa is opposite the indentation of the Gulf of 
Mexico, and the projection of the Brazilian shore is opposite the 
indentation of the Gulf of Guinea. 

1. The bold conception has been entertained from this peculiar outline, 
that the two continents onee formed an undivided territory, which some 
great convulsion separated, creating the Atlantic valley, into which the 
ocean poured. 

X. The mean height of continents, or their average elevation 
above the level of the sea, is a subject investigated by Humboldt, 
with somewhat surprising results. He finds that the mean height 
depends not so much upon the mountain-chains, as upon the table- 
lands, plateaus, and plains. 

1. He estimates that if the Pyrenees were spread over Europe, they would 
raise the land scarcely C feet ; and the Alps, about 22 feet ; while the 
plateau of Spain would produce an average elevation of 70 feet. If the 
Andes were pulverized, and spread over the plains of South America, its 
effect would be to raise the surface 518 feet. Omitting Africa, which is 
little known, and the average elevation of Europe is 070 feet. North Ame- 
rica 750 feet. South America 1130 feet, and Asia 1150 feet, or a general 
average above the level of the sea of 920 feet. 



CHAPTER III. 

ISLANDS. 

I. Islands are masses of land, greatly varying in size, entirely 
surrounded by water. They rarely occur alone in the midst of a 
wide expanse of ocean, but usually form groups and archipelagoes 
contiguous to the main land. 

1. Islands may be divided into two classes: Continental, and Pelagic, 
(belonging to the sea). Continental islands are those which lie .along the 
coasts of continents. They are generally long and narrow, with their extre- 
mities pointing towards each other. Of this class are the .Japanese, and 
other islands that extend along the coast of Asia ; the British Isles, and the 
West Indies. Those which are found in the midst of the sea, generally of a 
round or elliptical form, are Pelagic — as the Sandwich Islands, and 
St. Helena. 

State some of the points of resemblance between the two continents. — "What may be 
observed with reference to the coast-lines of the land on the two sides of the Atlantic 
Basin? — What bold conception has been entertained from their peculiar outline? 

Relate the results of Humboldt's observations on the mean height of continents. 

What are islands? — Into what two classes may they be divided ? — What are Conti- 
nental islands? — Pelagic islands? 



2. Solitary isles are commonly small, and of volcanic origin. Ascension 
Island is an example, 1450 miles from the coast of Africa, 080 from St. He- 
lena, and 520 miles from the Island of St. Matthew, the nearest point of 
land. St. Helena is another example, 1800 miles from the coast of Brazil, 
and 1200 from the shores of Africa, Ascension Island being its nearest 
neighbor. Both these islands are of volcanic formation. 




Island of St. Helena. 

3. Rockall, a granite block, scarcely a hundred yiirds in circumference, 
situated in the Atlantic Ocean, three hundred miles west of Scotland, and 
St. Paul's Rocks, also in the Atlantic, seven hundred miles east of Brazil, 
are remarkable exceptions to the general characteristic of solitary islands. 

II. Some islands are simple masses of sand deposited by the 
ocean, and just rising above high water mark ; others are tracts, 
more or less extensive, having a general resemblance, in their 
mountains, plains, lakes, rivers, and variable climates, to the 
adjacent continent. 

III. The geographical position and geological character of 
many islands render it highly. probable that they were formerly 
a portion of the neighboring continent, the connecting parts being 
at a lower level, and submerged by water. 

1. Thus the crystalline mountains of Corsica and Sardinia extend in the 
same direction, and are of similar formation to the maritime Alps, of which 
they undoubtedly form a part. The Japanese Islands are a continuation of 
the Peninsula of Kamtschatka. The West India Islands seem to have been 
rendered insular by the incursions of the ocean. 

2. It can hardly be doubted that Britain has been detached from the 
main land of Europe, the sea cutting its way through an isthmus which 
once connected England with France, and forming the Straits of 
Dover. 

IV. A great number of islands are of volcanic origin, on some 
of which the volcanoes are still active. Though distributed 
through all latitudes, from the island of Jan Mayen, 72° north, 
to the Antarctic Land, they are most numerous in the Indian 
and Pacific Oceans. 

V. The formation of new islands by sub-marine volcanic 
action, though of rare occurrence, is a phenomenon of which we 
have many well-authenticated records. Some of these remark- 
able creations have entirely disappeared beneath the surface of 
the sea ; others have slightly subsided, forming dangerous shoals ; 
while others again have continued permanent. 

Of what origin, commonly, are solitary islands? — Give some examples. — Name some 
remarkable exceptions. — To what do some islands bear a general resemblance? 

What is rendered highly prob.able, from the geographical position and geological cha- 
racter of many islands? — Illustrate your statement. 

^^'here are volcanic islands most numerous? — What is said of the formation of new 
islands? 



12 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



The following are well-authenticated accounts of such creations in different 
localities : — 

1. The Azores. — New islands appeared in connection with this group in 
1538, 1587, and 1720; but the best-known example occurred in 1811, when 
the temporary island of Sabrina rose off the coast of St. Michael. It attained 
the height of 300 feet, was about a mile in circumference, but gradually 
subsided, and wholly disappeared by the close of February, 1812. In 1813, 
there were 500 feet of water at the spot. 

2. Coast of Iceland. — The island of Nyiie, or New Island, was erupted in 
1783, and formally claimed by the court of Denmark ; but in a few months 
the sea regained possession of the site. 

3. Aleutian Isles. — A new island was added to this group in the year 180C, 
upwards of four geographical miles in circumference ; and a second appeared 
in 1814, which rose to the height of 3000 feet, then slightly subsiding. Both 
have since remained firm. 

4. Coast of Sicibj. — Ilotham or Graham Island arose in the year 1831. 
On the 19th of July, in that year, the crater of the volcano which formed it 
had arisen a few feet above the level of the sea, and was in great activity ; 
emitting vast volumes of steam, ashes, and dust. The island increased in 
all its dimensions from that time until August, when its circumference was 
about 3240 feet, and its height 107 feet. From August until October, various 
changes took place, and in December it entirely disappeared. In 1846, it 
formed a shoal with 210 feet of water upon it. 

VI. Coralline islands, among the most interesting and won- 
derful operations of nature, are tbe ■work of minute animals, 
which exist in countless numbers in the tropical parts of the 
Indian and Pacific Oceans. These little creatures secrete from 
their food and from the surrounding sea-water a mass of matter 
which beccrme rocks. These rocks, elevated to the surface, are 
broken up by the elements, and exposed to the atmosphere. The 
winds and the currents convey to them from a distance numerous 
seeds and plants, vegetation springs up ; and thus, after a time, 
coral islands become fitted for the habitation of man. 

The coral insect cannot exist if left dry, nor at a greater depth than from 
150 to 200 feet. It always commences building its stony habitation on sub- 
marine land, and ceases its labor in an upward direction on reaching the 
surface of the water. The occurrence of coral below the depth mentioned 
can only be explained on the supposition that the foundation on which 
the insect commenced to build has subsided; while all the coral above the 
surface has either been washed up by the stormy swell of the ocean, or ele- 
vated by volcanic action or other internal forces. 

VII. Coralline Formations are distributed into the four great 
classes of Lagoon-islands, to which their Indian name of Atolls 
is generally applied, Encircling-reefs, Barrier-reefs, and Fringing- 
reefs. 

1. Lagoon-islands, or atolls, consist of a belt of coral enclosing a lagoon, 
or vacant space of the ocean. The coral above the surface of the water is 
usually less than a quarter of a mile in breadth, and so low, that it would not 
be perceptible at a very small distance, but for its vegetable clothing of 
cocoa-nuts and palms. The lagoons themselves, or enclosed spaces, vary in 
extent from a few square miles to enormous areas. The depth of water in 
the lagoons ranges from 100 to 300 feet. 

The atolls are variously circular, oval, and irregular in shape. They 
occur singly and in groups. Dangerous Archipelago, east of the Society 
Islands, is an assemblage of 80 atolls, mostly circular, subject to strong 
curreuts and squalls. The surf ia said to beat on them with such violence 
as to be heard for a distance of 8 miles. Many of the islets are inhabited. 
The Caroline Archipelago, north of New Guinea, the largest of all, comprises 
60 groups of atolls about 1000 miles in length. Many are of great size, and 
all are beaten by a tempestuous sea and occasional hurricanes. 

Says Mr. Darwin, in describing AVhitsunday Island, a sketch of which, 

Give some examples of new islands which have arisen. — Describe the formation of 

Coral Islands. — Name the four classes of Coralline Formations. Which are Lagoon 

islands ? 



taken from Beeohey's Voyage, is presented below: — "The immensity of the 
ocean, the fury of the breakers, contrasted with the lowness of the land and 
the smoothness of the bright green water within the lagoon, can hardly be 
imagined without having been seen." 





View of Whitsunday Island. 

2. Encircling-reefs differ only from the atolls in having one or more islands 
within the central expanse. The coral belt is commonly at the distance of 
two or three miles from the enclosed shore. Tahiti, the principal of the 
Society group, is a fine example ; an island rising in mountains 7000 feet 
high, surrounded by a lagoon, like an enormous moat, from half a mile to 
three miles broad, and 200 feet deep, which is separated from the out-lying 
ocean by a reef of coral. The coral, both in the case of atolls and encircling 
reefs, has openings or channels in its circuit, by which ships enter the lagoons, 
where they find excellent harborage. 

3. Barrier-reefs extend in straight lines in front of the shores of a conti- 
nent, or of a large island, frequently at a considerable distance from the land. 
New Caledonia has a reef of this kind 400 miles long; but the grandest 
example of coral formation known is the great Australian reef. Externally, 
it rises with little inclination from a fathomless ocean — stretches upwards 
of 1000 miles along the north-east coast — varies in breadth from 200 yards to 
a mile, and in distance from the shore from 20 to 70 miles. There are many 
openings through the reef, by which vessels enter the interior ocean, which 
is everywhere safely navigable. 

4. Fringing-reefs are mere ribbons of coral, enclosing no lagoons, but 
immediately lining the shore. 

VIII. The growth of coral reefs and islands is chiefiy 
confined to the Torrid Zone. In a few cases, as in the warm 
waters of the Gulf Stream, among the Bermudas, as far north as 
32° 15', and in the Red Sea at S0° north, it has been observed 
beyond the Tropics. Atolls, Encircling-reefs, and Barrier-reefs, 
are confined exclusively to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. 
Fringing-reefs occur exclusively among the West India Islands, 
and in the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and are also found in 
various parts of the Indian and Pacific waters. The tropical 
waters of the Eastern Atlantic and Eastern Pacific appear to be 
entirely destitute of coral formations. 

IX. Recapitulation. — It thus appears that all the land on the 
surface of the earth is arranged in the form of Continents or 
Islands ; that the continents have many points of contrast and 
resemblance ; that the islands are either portions of a continent 
separated from it by some convulsion of nature, or by the action 
of water — or that they are masses of sand washed up by the 
waves — or that they are of volcanic or coral formation. 

Describe Encircling-reefs — Barrier-reefs — Fringing-reefs. — To what Zone is the 
growth of Coral chiefly confined? — Recapitulate the subjects of this and the preceding 
chapter. 



MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS. 



13 




Mount Ararat, 



CHAPTER IV. 
MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS. 

I. The surface of the earth is greatly diversified by mountains 
and valleys, hills, table-lands, and plains. 

II. Mountains are the highest elevations of the earth's sur- 
face ; and with reference to their height, may be considered as 
forming three classes. The first class includes those rising to 
the elevation of 20,000 feet, and upwards ; the second, those 
ranging between 10,000 and 20,000 feet ; the third, those betAveen 
2000 and 10,000 feet, all inferior elevations being styled hills and 
slopes. 

The Himalaya range and Andes are of the first class ; the Rocky 
Mountains, Alps, Pyrenees, and AtUs belong to the second class ; and the 
AUeghanies, AVhite Mountains, and Appenines are examples of the third 
class. 

The impression is a natural one, that the mountains on the earth cause it 
to be an irregular body, and not a sphere, but the highest mountain known, 
rising above 28,000 feet, is only one five-thousandth part of the earth's 
greatest circumference, and only one sixteen-hundredth part of its diameter. 
A single hair, on an ordinary globe, would fully represent the elevation. 

Mountains are seldom found in plains remote from each other, and when 
they do thus occur are usually of volcanic origin — as Mount Etna, the Peak 
of Teneriffe, and Mount Egmont in New Zealand. 

III. A continued line or succession of mountains constitutes 
what is termed a mountain chain or range. The culminating 
point of a mountain chain is its highest elevation. A mountain 
system consists of a number of chains or ranges extending in the 
same general direction, and having an apparent connection with 
each other. 

Mountain chains are rarely simple, but usually consist of distinct, and 
often short ridges, extending in the same general direction, and nearly 
parallel with each other — the whole constituting a grand chain. The extre- 
mities are usually of low elevation, the culminating point being near the 
centre. Though making many curves and angles, the mountain chains 
usually correspond in their prevailing direction to the line of greatest extent 
in the tracts of country in which they are situated. The mountain ranges 

By what is the surface of the earth diversified? — What are mountaiDS? — How many 
classes may they be considered as forming ? — State the elevation, and give examples 
of the first class — Second — Third. 

What eff'ect have mountains upon the spherical form of the earth? — Of what origin 



of the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, and Porto Rico, and those of the peninsulas 
of California, Italy, and Kamtschatka are good illustrations of the truth of 
this general law. Secondary lines or spurs branch off at various angles 
from the main chain stretching far away on to the plains. 

IV. The popular idea of a mountain chain as consisting of a 
single elevated ridge resembling the roof of a house, is far from 
being correct. A mountain chain is frequently hundreds of 
miles in width, consisting of alternate ridges and depressions, the 
entire mass of land being greatly elevated above the surrounding 
surface. In mountain ranges of low elevation, as the AUegha- 
nies, the depressions between the ridges are often fertile and 
beautiful valleys ; in higher chains, as the Himalaya and Andes, 
they are frequently dreary, inhospitable regions, unfitted for the 
abode of man. It is through these depressions that rivers, fed 
from the melting snow of the mountain, or from brooks trickling 
down the mountain side, find their way towards the reservoirs 
into which they flow. 





LEVEL" OF THE SEA. 



The above diagram is a representation of a section of the Chilian Andes, 
from which may be derived a very correct idea of the general formation of 
common mountain chain.s. 

V. Mountain chains have usually steep declivities on the sides 
towards the ocean, and long, gentle slopes towards the interior. 
The Andes are an example. They rise abruptly f^'om the 
Pacific; their descent towards the interior is much more gradual. 
The ascent of the AUeghanies from the Atlantic is quite precipi- 
tous ; their descent in the direction of the valley of the Mississippi 
is gentle and gradual. 

usually are solitary mountains? — What constitutes a mountain chain? — What is the 
culminating point of a mountain chain? — What is a mountain system? 

Describe the general formation of a mountain chain. — Which side has usually steep 
declivities? — Give some examples to illustrate your statement. 



1-t 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



VI. It is a fact worthy of observation that most of the gold and 
silver hitherto discovered has been found in mountain ranges, 
extending in a northerly and southerly direction. Humboldt 
first called attention to this fact as verified by the gold and silver 
mines of the Andes, Ural mountains, and AUeghanies. The 
recent discoveries of gold in California and Australia strikingly 
confirm the truth of this general law. 




Tacora Pass — A "\ lew in the Andes. 

VII. The mountain chains of America are fewer in number, 
more simple, and more readily traced than those of the old world. 
They may be considered as constituting six distinct systems, as 
follows : 1. The Rocky Mountain system. 2. The California 
system. 3. The Alleghany, or Apalachian system. 4. The 
Andean system. 5. The system of the Parime. 6. The Bra- 
zilian system. The first three are in North America, the last 
three in South America. 

The Rocky Mountain and Andean systems constitute a conneoted chain, 
extending along the Pacific coast from the Arctic Ocean to the southern 
extremity of South America, a distance of more than 10,000 miles. For con- 
venience of description, this chain, the longest upon the globe, is considered 
as forming two systems. 

1. The Eochy Mountain System. — The Rocky Mountains extend from near 
the Arctic Ocean, under about the 70th parallel of latitude, in a south- 
easterly direction to the 38th parallel ; here, assuming the name of the 
Sierra Madre, the chain is continued in the same general direction to the 
Isthmus of Panama, which is reached at the low elevation of about 300 feet. 
The Sierra Madre, through Mexico and Central America, is an irregular 
intermixture of high table-lands and lofty mountains, many of the higher 
peaks being active volcanoes. The entire length of this range may be 
stated at 5,500 miles, at varying distances from the Pacific of from 25 to 
900 miles. 

2. The California System. — This system comprises all the mountains of 
North America, west of the Rocky Mountain system. It consists in some 
parts of its extent of a single chain, and in others of several parallel ranges ; 
and stretches along the Pacific coast, from the southern extremity of the 
Peninsula of California nearly to the Peninsula of Alaska. A spur from 
the Sierra Nevada, the most eastern range of the California system, con- 
nects that chain with the Rocky Mountain system. Some of the peaks of 
the California system are of loftier elevation than any of the summits of the 
Kocky Mountain system, though its average elevation is not so great. 

3. The Alleghany, or Apalachian System. — This system consists of a series 
of elevations, rarely more than 3000 or 4000 feet in height, which extend 
north-easterly along the Atlantic coast, from about the 34th parallel of lati- 
tude to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The average width of the mountain 

In what direction do the principal mountain chains extend, in which gold and silver 
are found? — Name the six mountain eystems of America. — Give a general description 
of each of them. — Which two of them constitute a connected chain? 



chains constituting this system may be stated at from 00 to 150 miles, at 
various distances from the ocean of from 30 to 300 miles. 

4. The Andean Sy.item. — The Andean system comprises the grand moun- 
tain chain which extends in an unbroken line along the Pacific coast, from 
the Isthmus of Panama to the southern extremity of South America, a dis- 
tance of more than 4500 miles. South of latitude 20° south, the system 
consists of but a single chain ; north of this latitude, it frequently comprises 
two or three different parallel ranges. North of the Equator, a spur from 
the main chain extends in a north-easterly direction along the coast of tlie 
Caribbean Sea, constituting the coast-chain of Venezuela and Cumana. Next 
to the Himalaya range in Asia, the Andean system contains the loftiest ele- 
vations upon the globe. 

5. Tlie System of the Parime. — This system includes several parallel ranges 
extending from east to west between the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers. The 
ranges are spread over a tract of country 350 miles in width, by from 1000 
to 1200 miles in length, and have an average elevation of perhaps 3000 or 
4000 feet. 

6. The Brazilian System. — The Brazilian mountains extend along the 
south-east coast of Brazil in several parallel ranges, at various distances 
from the ocean of from 20 to 80 miles, from the river Uruguay, north-east to 
Cape St. Roque, a distance of more than 2000 miles. Their average eleva- 
tion may be stated at 3500 feet. 

VIII. The mountain systems of the Old World are much more 
complicated than those of the New ; but on examination it will 
be found that, as in the New World, the principal ranges extend 
in the direction of the line of the greatest length of the continent. 

IX. The principal mountain systems of Europe and Asia con- 
sist of numerous nearly parallel ranges, extending from the 
eastern shores of the Atlantic to the western shores of the Pacific. 
The various ranges may be considered as constituting one grand 
system, extending a distance of little less than 8000 miles, varying 
in width from 500 to 2000 miles. It reaches its culminating 
point with Mount Kunchinginga, 28,176 feet high, a peak of the 
Himalaya range, and the highest point of land upon the globe. 
Although this chain is not continuous, yet it is sufiiciently so to 
be i-egarded as the grand central chain from which secondary 
ranges of greater or less importance diverge at various angles. 

The situation of this vast mountain band, about midway between the 
Equator and the North Pole, considerably influences the climate of the 
extensive regions through which it passes, and forms a separation between 
the warm, fertile regions of Southern Asia, and the less genial northern 
countries. In ancient 
times, in Europe, it con- 
stituted the boundary line 
between the civilized na 
tions of the South and the 
barbarous countries of 
the North. And, at the 
present time, it separates 
the more civilized nations 
of Persia and India, from 
the uncivilized hordes 
which occupy the north 
ern and central regions of 
Asia. 

X. The Cantabrian 
mountains, the Pyre- 
nees, the low range of 
the Cevennes, the Alps, 
and the Balkan moun- 




* 






The Grimsel Pass — A Scene among the Alps. 



tains, constitute the central European chain. 



In what general direction do the principal mountain chains of the Old World extend? 

Describe the grand central system of Europe and Asia. — Name the mountain ranges 

constituting the central European chain. 



MOUNTAINS. 



15 



South of tliis cuiitral cliaiii, iiiiJ more ur luss di^ti^L■tly coniiocteil with it, 
are the mountain ranges of the Spanish, Italian, and Grecian Peninsulas. 
The Sierra Morena and Sierra Nevada in the Spanish Peninsula, the Appe- 
nines in Italy, and the chain of Mount Pindus, which extends southwardly 
fripni the Balkan mountains, are the principal ranges of these regions. 

North-westwardly from the Cevennes, the Auvergne m^ iintains extend 
into the centre of France, and from the great Alpine system numerous 
branches extend northward into central Europe. The chain of Mount Jura, 



which separates France and Switzerland, and the Carpathian mountains, 
which borders nearly the whole of the northern and eastern frontiers of 
Hungary, protecting its vast plains from the chilly winds which sweep across 
the low lands of the north, are the most important. 

The Caucasian system, between Europe and Asia, extends in a south- 
east and north-west direction, between the Black and Caspian Seas, through 
a length of about 700 miles. Mount Elbruz, the culminating point of this 
system, is the highest mountain in Europe. 




"Xorigitude V\ e&l Irum 



±_AJ_i±tk^:M 



> gitude Las in W ash n gton 9 -. 



Mountain Chains of Central Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. 



XI. Crossing the slight interruption of the Dardanelles and 
Sea of Marmora, this central chain is continued in Asia, in a 
south-easterly direction, by the Taurus, Elburz, and Hindoo 
Koosh mountains, to about 75° cast longitude. The lofty eleva- 
tions of the Hindoo Koosh form a mountain knot or group, from 
whence the central chain is continued to the Pacific in four dis- 
tinct mountain systems, among the grandest and most stupendous 
upon the globe. 

XII. The most southern of these systems, forming the northern 
boundary of the fertile plains of India, is the Himalaya range, 
continued through China to the Pacific by the Nanling moun- 
tains. Further north, forming the northern boundary of the 
table-land of Thibet, is the system of the Kuen Llin, continued 
to the Pacific by the Peling mountains. The rugged and lofty 
Belor range first takes a northerly direction, but is continued in 
an easterly course by the Thian Shan, enclosing the great desert 
of Cobi. From the same mountain knot branches ofl' to the 
north-east the vast system of the Altai mountains, which separate 
Tartary and Siberia, and taking a north-easterly direction, reaches 
the Pacific near Behring's Strait. 

Many secondary chains of importance diverge at various angles from the 
main chain already described. The Solimaun mountains are an important 
range, branching off to the south from the mountain knot of the Hindoo 
Koosh. The Ghaut mountains of Ilindoostan, and the other ranges of the 
Indian Peninsulas, are spurs of the system of the Himalayas. A branch 
from the Altai system extends through Kamtsohatka, and is probably conti- 
nued through the Kurile Islands and Japan. The various branches of the 



Altai, Thian Shan, Kuen LUn, and Himalayan mountains, which contribute 
to make China one of the most mountainous countries on the globe, are little 
known. There are probably many secondary chains extending north and 
south, connecting these various systems. 

The Ural mountains, which separate Europe and Asia, and whose course 
as a ridge may be traced from the northern extremity of Nova Zembla, in a 
southerly direction, a distance of 1700 miles ; and the Scandinavian moun- 
tains, which extend from Cape North to the southern extremity of Norway, 
a distance of 1000 miles, are the only mountain ranges of note in Europe and 
Asia unconnected with the great central chain already described. 

XIII. The principal mountain systems of Africa are the Atlas 
range, the Abyssinian mountains, the Sneeuw mountains of South 
Africa, and the Kong mountains. There are probably other 
mountain systems in this grand division of the earth, but our 
knowledge of them is very limited. • 

The entire north-western part of Africa, between the Great Desert and the 
Mediterranean Sea, is occupied by the Atlas range, a series of disconnected 
elevations, extending north-easterly from the Atantic a distance of 1500 
miles. 

Between the Nile and the Red Sea commence the mountains of Abyssinia, 
which are supposed to be continued at a considerable distance from the 
African coast, nearly to the southern extremity of the Peninsula. South of 
the Equator this chain has been long recognized by geographers under the 
name of the Lupata mountains, though the existence of such a range is by 
no means satisfactorily determined. The recently-discovered Peaks of Kenia 
and Kiliraandjaro, near the Equator, which are believed to be at least 20,000 
feet in height, are supposed to be among the loftiest elevations of this exten- 
sive chain. The system of the Sneeuw-bergen or Snow mountains comprises 
a number of ranges extending across South Africa from ocean to ocean. 



Describe the secondary ranges which diverge from the central European chain.— Which are the principal secondary chains of the central system in Asia? — Name 

Where are the Caucasus mountains? — Name the mountains constituting the central the two mountain systems of Europe and Asia not connected with the central chain.— 

chain in Asia. — Describe the four grand Systems extending to the Pacific from the ! Describe each of them.— Which are the principal mountain systems of Africa.— Describe 

mountain knot of Hindoo Koosh. the one north of the Great Desert — The one between the Rirer Nile and Red Sea. 



16 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



This system is doubtless a continuation of the chain bordering the eastern 
coast. 

The Kong mountains constitute another African system. They are of 
inconsiderable elevation, and extend in an easterly direction from the 
Atlantic Ocean, parallel with the northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea. On 
most maps of Africa, the Mountains of the Moon are represented as an 
easterly continuation of the Kong mountains. They are so drawn on the 
authority of Ptolemy, the ancient Egyptian geographer ; but recent discove- 
ries render it doubtful if the position assigned to them be correct, and, 
indeed, makes the existence of such a chain a matter of great uncertainty. 
The Cameroon mountains are a group of volcanic formation, on the western 
coast of Africa, south of the Kong mountains. 

XIV. Australia appears to have no central mountain range, 
but is encircled on every side by elevations rising rarely moi-e 
than 2000 or 3000 feet. These elevations have a precipitous 
ascent from the water, but decline by a gradual slope towards the 
low lands of the centre of the island. 

XV. Chains of mountains are variously intersected by valleys, 
which form two leading classes, termed longitudinal and trans- 
verse. Longitudinal valleys separate parallel ridges of mountain 
chains, and extend in the same general direction with them. 
Transverse valleys cut the ridges at right angles, and extend in 
an opposite direction from the longitudinal. 

Longitudinal valleys are frequently of great extent. The Valley of Vir- 
ginia, 700 miles in length, so noted for its fertility and beauty, and the 
Valley of the Sacramento and San Joaquin in California, 500 miles long, so 
celebrated for gold, are of this class. 

Transverse valleys are sometimes gradual and gentle depressions in 
the mountain ranges, of considerable width, as the famous South Pass 
in Oregon, thirty miles hroad, but more frequently they are narrow 



and frightful gorges, through which only can high mountain chains 
be crossed. Such are the Passes of the Himalaya and Andes, which 
are sometimes scenes 
of great magnificence — 
often of appalling gloom 
and peril. 

XV. Recapitula- 
tion. — It thus ap- 
pears that the moun- 
tain chains upon the 
earth may be consi- 
dered as constituting 
distinct systems, — 
that these systems 
usually consist of 
several parallel ran- 
ges, extending in the 
direction of the line 
ofthegreatestlength 
of the district in 
which they are si- 
tuated, — that the 
chains have usually 
steep declivities on 
the sides towards the 




ocean, an 



dlonc 



igen- 



View of the Bolan Pass— A Transverse Valley 
of the Solimaun MountaiDS. 



tie slopes towards 

the interior. It appears, also, that solitary mountains are usually 

of volcanic formation. 



CHAPTER V. 
PLATEAUS, OR TABLE-LANDS. 

I. A Plateau, or Table-Land, is an extensive tract of ele- 
vated land, having a comparatively level surface. It may con- 
tain hills and valleys, be traversed by mountain ridges, and serve 
as a platform for lofty mountain peaks ; but its prevailing char- 
acter is that of an elevated region, with a considerable area of 
plain surface. 

Land having an elevation of less than 2000 feet, is not usually regarded 
as table-land. 

Plateaus of the Western Continent. 

II. North America. — The Plateau of North America extends 
from about the 50th parallel of north latitude, between the Rocky 
Mountains and the coast-range of the Pacific, south-easterly 
through the central part of Mexico and Central America, to the 

Where are the Kong raouutains? — On what authority have the Mountains of the 
Moon been represented on Maps ? — Where are the Cameroon mountains? — Describe the 
mountains of Australia. 

What is a Longitudinal valley? — What is a Transverse valley? — Give an example 
of each. — Recapitulate the subjects of this chapter. 



Isthmus of Panama. This region may be divided into the fol- 
lowing sections : — 

1. The Great Basin of Utah. — This Basin, also called Fremont Basin, on 
account of having been first explored by Lieut. Fremont, extends from the 
44th to the 37th parallel of latitude, and is bounded on all sides by moun- 
tain chains. It is for the most part a desolate region, a more particular 
description of which will be found on page 8L 

2. Hie Great Mexican Plateau. — South of the Great Basin of Utah, and 
extending south-easterly to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, is the Great Mexican 
Plateau. The principal table-lands of this region are the Plateaus of Chi- 
huahua and Anahuac. The table-land of Chihuahua, north of the 24th 
parallel, is a barren region, with an elevation of from 4000 to 6000 feet. 
The table-land of Anahuac is from 6000 to 9000 feet in height, and is a 
healthful and generally fertile region. The surface of this Plateau supports 
several high mountains, many of which are volcanoes, and is also traversed 
by several well-defined ridges, which divide it into separate and distinct 
plains. The descent from it is very steep on all sides ; on the east especially 
it is so precipitous, that, seen from a distance, it is like a range of high 
mountains. From the Mexican Gulf it is only accessible by two carriage- 
roads : one by Jalapa, the other by Saltillo ; both of which were made 

What is a Plateau? — Above what elevation is the term Table-Land applied? — De- 
scribe the Plateau of North America. — Where is the Great Basin of Utah ? — By what 
other name is this Basin known ? 

Describe the Great Mexican Plateau. — Which are the principal Table-lands of this 
Plateau. — Describe each of them. 



PLATEAUS, OR TABLE-LANDS. 



17 



points of attack by the Army of tlie United States during the recent war 
between the two nations. On one of the plains of this Plateau, surrounded 
by lofty mountains, stands the city of Mexico, at an elevation above the 
ocean of 7430 feet. 

3. The Tahh-lands of Central America extend from the Isthmus of Tuhu- 
antepeo to the Isthmus of Panama, and include the three Plateaus of 
Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The country rises westward from 
the low hills of the Isthmus of Panama to the height of 5000, and even 
8000 feet. 

III. South America. — The Plateaus of South America consist 
of the great Plateau of the Andes, the elevated plains of Quito, 
Bogota, and Popayan, and the table-land of Brazil. 

1. The great Plateau of the Andes is an enormous mass of lofty table-land, 
stretching along the tops of the Andes, between the parallels of 15° and 30° 
of south latitude, a distance of about 1000 miles. It contains the Plateau 
and basin of Lake Titicaca, in the north, and the desert tract of Despoblado 
in the south. 

The table-land of Lake Titicica, with an average elevation of 13,000 feet, 
is the highest Plateau in America. Yet the mountain ridges and elevated 
peaks which form its boundaries rise to double its height, the loftiest sum- 
mit being the Nevado de Sorat.a, 21,280 feet above the level of the sea. The 
territory, of which these are the enormous ramparts, exhibits a varied sur- 
face, and is 500 miles long, by from 30 to CO miles in width, comprising an 
area nearly four times as great as that of the State of New York. Potosi, 
the highest city in the world, stands on the southern end of this Plateau, at 
an absolute elevation of 13,330 feet. 




/^-^,L:2^^SAi;;^-!gl*Sg*i?^ 



View of Nevado de Sorata, frum tb. wt-t shore of Lake Titicaca. — Taken from 
Gibbon's Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon. 

Lake Titicaca is rather more than half the size of Lake Erie, comprising 
.in area of about 4000 square miles. Lieut. Gibbon reports that it is gradu- 
ally filling up ; that "the water is getting shallower every year." " Finally," 
says he, " there will be a single stream flowing through what in future ages 
may be called Titicaca Valley." This region includes the plain of Cuzco, 
which is in itself three times the extent of Switzerland. 

South of the table-laud of Titicaca, and immediately adjoining it, is an 
extensive tract of land called Despoblado, "uninluxhikd." Cold winds blow 
over this desolate region from the mountains on the west and south-west, 
so keenly as to chafe the skin when exposed to them ; yet there are some- 
times currents of hot air of so high a temperature as to produce a similar 
effect. A singular valley, or narrow cleft in the earth, crosses this tract 
from north to south, a length of about 140 miles, but having in some places 
a breadth of only about an eighth of a mile. 

2. Less elevated and less extensive than the great Plateau just described, 
though not less grandly environed by magnificent heights, is the table-land 
of Quito, 220 miles long, by 30 broad. " From the terrace of the government 

What Plateaus are included in the table-lands of Central America ? — Name the Pla- 
teaus of South America. — What are the divisions of the great Plateau of the Andes ? — 
Describe each of these divisions. — Describe the Plateau of Quito — Bogota — Popayan — 
Brazil. 

4 



palace," says Humboldt, speaking of the city of Quito, " there is one of the 
most enchanting prospects the human eye ever witnessed, or nature ever 
exhibited. Looking to the south, and glancing towards the north, eleven 
mountains covered with perpetual snow present themselves, their bases 
apparently resting on the verdant hills that surround the city." 

3. The Plateau of Bogota, in New Granada, has a level surface, enclosed 
by a barrier of rocks. It is of limited extent, but has an average elevation 
of nearly 9000 feet. 

4. The elevated land occupied by the city of Popayan is a Plateau formed 
by the main trunk of the Andes. 

5. The table-land of Brazil extends westward from the coast-range of the 
Brazilian mountains, with an average altitude of 2000 feet, — sinking gra- 
dually towards the west, into the low marshy plains of the Madeira and 
Paraguay Rivers. 

Plateaus of the Eastern Continent. 

IV. Asia contains a greater area of table-land than any other 
grand division of the globe. Its Plateaus may be divided into the 
table-lands of Central, and of Southern and South-western Asia. 

1. Central Asia. — The Great Desert of Cobi, the name signifying in the 
Mongolian language, "a naked desert," also called by the Chinese "Shamo," 
tJie sea of sand, and " Ilan-hai," the dry sea, lies between the Thian Shan 
and the Kuen Liin mountains ; and stretches in a north-east direction, from 
about longitude 81° East, to the eastern extremity of Chinese Mongolia, 
comprising an area estimated at more than half a million of square miles 
— a territory more than ten times the extent of the State of New York. Its 
mean elevation is 4000 feet. In the central region it sinks to 2400 feet, 
while towards the wall of China it rises to the height of 5800 feet. Its sur- 
face is for the most part of shingly gravel, though there is an extensive tract 
of shifting sands near the centre. 

The table-land of Thibet occupies the space between the Kuen Llin and 
the Himalaya mountains, and is divided from east to west into Upper, 
Middle, and Little Thibet. The surface is much broken by numerous 
mountain chains, and has an average elevation of about 11,000 feet, — the 
capital, Lassa, in Upper Thibet, being 9590 feet above the level of the sea. 

The common opinion that the whole of Central Asia east of the Belor 
mountains, between the Altai and Himalaya chains, is a great mass of 
table-land from 3000 to 12,000 feet high, is doubted by Humboldt, in his 
volume, "Aspects of Nature." He states that the country north-west of the 
Thiau Chan mountains is lowland, being only from 200 to 1200 feet hin-h. 
lie also states, (page 81): "That outside of the Thibetian Highlands and 
of the Cobi, the boundaries of which have been defined above, there are in 
Asia, between the parallels of 37° and 48°, considerable depressions and 
even true lowlands, where one boundless uninterrupted Plateau was formerly 
imagined to exist, is shown by the cultivation of plants which cannot thrive 
without a certain degree of heat." 

2. Southern and South-iccstern Asia contain the table-lands of Hindoostan, 
of Iran, of Asia Minor, and of Arabia. 

The table-land of Deccan, "the south,'" in Hindoostan, lies within the 
triangle formed by the Eastern and Western Ghauts and the Vindhya moun- 
tains. This Plateau is divided into three sections : the most southerly of 
which, the table-land of Mysore, is the smallest, but most elevated — having 
an average height of about 3000 feet, and rising in some places to more than 
7000 feet. The British soldiers, when debilitated by service under the 
tropical suns of Hindoostan, instead of being sent home to recruit their 
strength, are now removed to the high lands of this Plateau, the elevated 
position of which gives them a temperate climate in a torrid zone. 

The Plateau of Iran, in Persia, extends from Asia Minor, and from the 
plains of the Euphrates and Tigris, nearly to the Indus River, leaving only 
a narrow border of lowland along the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean, and 
the Caspian Sea. This table-land comprises on the west the cold, treeless 
plains of Armenia, and in the centre consists of extensive salt wastes and 
immense seas of sand, than which few parts of the globe can be more 
uninviting. 

What divisions may the Plateaus of Asia be considered as forming? — Describe at 
length the different Plateaus of Central Asia. — What table-lands are found in Southern 
and SoutU-western Asia? — Which of them are in Hindoostan? — Describe the Plateau 
of Iran. 



18 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



The Plateau of Asia Minor, or Anatolia, is enclosed -within the mountain 
chains which sliirt the sea-coast of that peninsula. It has an average 
height of 3000 or 4000 feet, though some of the summits of its mountain 
ramparts far exceed this elevation. This table-land is driiined by the rivers 
which flow into the Black Sea; but there is an extensive tract north of the 
Taurus mountains, covered with numerous salt lakes, marshes, and rivers, 
having no visible outlet. 

Arabia. — The interior of Arabia is very little known, but it is supposed 
to consist mainly of barren table-lands, supported by the mountain chains 
which approach the coast. 

V. Africa. — This grand division of the earth has not yet been 
sufficiently explored to permit geographers to speak with con- 
fidence of the character of its surface. The only table-lands of 
which there is any thing like certain information, are those of 
Abyssinia and South Africa. 

1. Abyssinia. — The entire country of Abyssinia may be considered as one 
great table-land, guarded by lofty mountain ranges, and supporting many 
elevated peaks. It rises precipitately from the Red Sea, and on the north- 
west sinks away gradually towards the low lands, bordering the Nile. On 
the south, the limits of this table-land are undefined ; it may extend beyond 
the Equator. 

2. South Africa. — This table-land may be considered as constituting three 
distinct Plateaus, which rise towards the north from the ocean in three suc- 
cessive terraces. The first of these Plateaus is a well-watered and fertile 
country, the second contains extensive tracts of barren soil, and the third is 
a clay desert, which in the hot season is impassable to man and deserted by 
beasts. Table Mount.iin, a stupendous mass of rock 3500 feet in height, is 
situated at the southern extremity of this Plateau. 




View of Table Mountain. 

VI. Europe. — The only European Plateau worthy of mention 
is that of the Spanish Peninsula, the whole central part of 
which consists of a series of lofty plains, divided from each other 
and from the maritime lowlands by parallel mountain ranges. 
The Plateau comprises 93,000 squai-e miles, nearly equal to half 
the Peninsula. Madrid, the capital, is 2220 feet above the level 
of the Mediterranean. 

VII. Table-land is not unfrequently characteristic of islands 
as well as continents. The Faroe Islands, west of Norway, which 
rise at once to the height of 2000 feet, presenting nearly the 
same elevation over the whole group, are an example. 

Describe the Plateau of Asia Minor — Arabia. — Of what Table-lands in Africa do we 
possess any reliable information ? — Describe the Plateau of Abyssinia- — South Africa. — 
Name and describe the principal European Plateaus. — Are Plateaus exclusively con- 
fined to Continents ? — Give an example to prove your statement. 



CHAPTER VI. 
PLAINS. 

I. A Plain is a tract of land comparatively level, and but 
little elevated above the surface of the ocean. The term is not 
usually applied to land rising to the height of more than 2000 
feet, the distinction between Plains and Plateaus being the dif- 
ference in their elevation. 

II. The Eastern and Western Continent each contains through- 
out its entire length a vast though not uninterrupted Plain. 
The Plain of the Western Continent stretches nearly from Pole 
to Pole, and that of the Eastern in an opposite direction, almost 
half the distance around the globe. 

Plains of the Western Continent. 

III. North America. — The great central Plain of North 
America extends from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf 
of Mexico, and from the Rocky Mountains to the Alleghanies. 
It comprises a Northward and Southward slope. 

1. The Northward or Arctic slope includes the greater part of North 
America, north of Canada and the United States. " It is difficult," says 
Mr. R. H. Martin, in his volume, entitled "An Account of the Hudson 
Bay Territories and V.anoouver's Island," " it is difficult to convey 
an idea of the physical aspects of this vast region. The whole territory 
consists of inland seas, bays, lakes, rivers, swamps, treeless prairies, barren 
hills and hollows, tossed together in a wave-like form, as if the ocean had 
been suddenly petrified while heaving its huge billows in a tumultuous 
swell. There are, doubtless, several spots adapted in some respects foi 
European settlements, but they are like oases in the desert, few and fat 
between, and totally inapplicable for extended colonization." The climate 
is extremely severe. For eight months in the year the entire country \i 
covered with snow, and the rivers and ponds, fifteen feet in depth, are frozen 
to the bottom. 

2. The Southward slope comprises the great Valley of the Mississippi and 
the fertile lowlands bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, for a full description 
of which, as also of the Atlantic slope, see page 81. 

IV. South America. — The great Plain of South America com- 
prises the entire Peninsula east of the Andes, with the exception 
of the systems of the Brazilian and Parime mountains, and the 
Brazilian table-land. The principal divisions of this great Plain 
are the Llanos of the Orinoco, the Selvas of the Amazon, the 
Pampas of the La Plata, and the barren wastes of Patagonia. 

1. Llanos. — The Plains {Llanos,) of the Orinoco, constitute the northern 
division of the great South American Plain. They are so level and so vast, 
that the traveller is continually reminded of the smooth surface of the 
ocean. During the dry season these Plains are parched by the scorching 
heat, and the country is a gloomy scene of sterility and desolation ; but with 
the return of the rains, life, which seemed almost extinguished, springs up 
again, more beautiful and more vigorous. To the powdered sand swept 
along by the winds, succeed rich pastures, where range a multitude of 
animals. 

2. Selvas. — The Forest Plains of the Amazon, called Selvas, occupy the 
lower part of its Basin, extending as far as the region of periodical inunda- 
tion. The moisture, and excessive heat of the climate of this region, pro- 
duce an extraordinary luxuriance uf animal and vegetable life. " Behold," 
says Guyot, " under the same parallel, where Africa presents only parched 
table-lands, those boundless virgin forests of the Basin of the Amazon, those 

■What is a Plain? — Give the extent of each of the great Plains of the E.astern and 
Western Continent, — Name the two slopes of the great North American Plain. — Eepeat 
R. H. Martin's description of the Northward slope. — Name the principal divisions of the 
great S. American Plain. — Describe the Llanos. — Repeat Guyot's account of the Selvas. 



PLAINS. 



19 



Selvas, almost unbroken, over a length of more than 1500 miles, forming the 
most gigantic wilderness of this kind that exists in any Continent. And 
what vigor — what luxuriance of vegetation! The Palm-trees, with their 
slender forms, boldly uplift their heads 150 or 200 feet above the ground, 
and domineer over all the other trees of these wilds, by their height, by their 
number, and by the majesty of their foliage. Climbing-plants, woody- 
stemmed, twining lianos, infinitely varied, surround them with their flexible 
branches, display their own flowers upon the foliage, and combine them in 
a solid mass of vegetation, impenetrable to man, which the axe alone can 
break through with success." Above the region of periodical overflow, we 
find vast plains of rich grass. 

3. Painpas. — Between the 32d parallel and the Rio Negro, and extending 
from the foot of the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean, are the Pampas or Plains 
of Buenos Ayres. Tliese Plains, covered with a heavy growth of grass, afford 
rich pasturage for numerous herds of cattle and droves of horses. North- 
west of the Pampas is an extensive tract of country, abounding in lakes and 
salt marshes ; still higher, and at the head-waters of the Madeira and Para- 
guay Rivers, again appear rich grassy meadows. 

4. Wastes of ratai/onia. — South of the Rio Negro, and extending from 
the foot of the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean, stretch the desert Plains of 
Patagonia. These Plains are sterile tracts, covered with sand and gravel, 
interspersed with numerous large boulders, or masses of rock lying on the 
surface. 

T/ie Pacific <S7oj;c. — The Patagonian Andes rise abruptly from the sea ; 
but to the north, a narrow strip of land, from 10 to 100 miles wide, lies 
between the ocean and the foot of the mountains. Except in Chili, and the 
country north of the Gulf of Guayaquil, this region is a sandy waste, relieved 
only by the fertile banks of the mountain-torrents which rush to the sea. 
The sea-coast of Bolivia is occupied by the desert of Atacama, which ia never 
wet by rains, nor moistened by dew. 



Plains of the Eastern Continent. 

V. The most extensive tract of low land upon the Eastern 
Continent is the great Northern Plain of Europe and Asia, which 
lies north of the central mountain band, (see page 13), and 
extends from the Bay of Biscay and the North Sea to Behring's 
Strait. The Ural Mountains form the line of separation between 
the Asiatic and European divisions of this Plain. 

VI. Europe. — The Plains of Europe consist of the European 
division of the great Northern Plain, and of the Plains of Southern 
Europe. 

1. The Northern Plain. — This great Plain, nine times the area of France, 
extends from the foot of the Ural Mountains westward, through North Ger- 
many, Denmark, Holland, and Belgium, to the western shores of France. 
Its eastern section lies between the Arctic Ocean at the north, and the Black 
Sea and Caucasus Mountains at the south ; further westward, it is limited 
on the south by the Carpathian Mountains and the mountains of Germany. 
The greater part of this Plain is exceedingly level. From the Carpathian 
to the Ural Mountains, a distance of 1500 miles, there is scarcely a rise in 
the ground. The rocky hills of Valdai, near the source of the Volga, and 
the highest elevation of which is only 1100 feet, is the most important inter- 
ruption to the uniformity of this great Plain, while parts of its surface are 
below the level of the ocean. Thus the sea is kept out of Holland by arti- 
ficial ramparts, and the country around the Caspian and the Lake of Aral 
is considerably below the level of the Mediterranean. 

This Plain comprises a large extent of land composed of the richest vege- 
table mould, and there are wide tracts clothed with natural forests of pine 
and fir; but there are also considerable quantities of waste lands, either 
covered with heath or sand, or forming swamps and morasses. From the 
Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea, southward to the Black Sea, wheat grows 
in great luxuriance. Poland has long been called the granary of Europe, 

Describe the Pampas — The Wastes of Patagonia — The Pacific Slope. — Give the 
boundaries of the great Northern Plain of the Eastern Continent. — Of what do the 
Plains of Europe consist? — Give a particular description of the European division of 
the great Northern Plain. — State the character of the soil of this Plain. 



and Southern Russia is equally productive. Dantzic, on the Baltic, and 
Odessa, on the Black Sea, being among the greatest grain sea-ports in the 
world. The country around the eastern and southern shores of the Baltic 
abounds with lakes, and contains extensive tracts of marshy land. 

VII. Certain districts in the European Plains receive local 
names, referring to the character of the surface, or to the nature 
of the soil, viz. : 

1. Step2)es.— This term is generally applied to treeless plains, without refe- 
rence to the character of the soil. The Steppes of Russia comprise a great 
extent of country bordering on the Black Sea, and extending to the Caspian 
Sea and the River Ural. West of the River Don, these Plains are called the 
Higher Steppes, being about 200 feet above the sea, and form part of the 
rich wheat district of Southern Russia. The eastern section, called the 
Lower Steppes, is a desolate region of sand, mixed with salt pools. 

2. //ea^/is. — Muchof the surface of Denmark and Northern Germany con- 
sists of sandy tracts, sometimes entirely naked, but more generally covered 
with pine woods, or with a species of heath, or low shrub. 

3. Laiides. — France, which has an uncommonly large proportion of fertile 
soil, contains also in the south vast sandy downs, called Landes, which are 
either wholly barren, or clothed with heath and pines. 





View of the City of Turin, on the Plains of Lombardy. 

VIII. The principal Plains of Southern Europe are those of 
Lombardy, Bohemia, Hungary, and the Turkish Provinces of the 
Danube, which are for the most part extremely fertile ; those of 
Hungary and the Lower Danube sending vast supplies of grain 
to the ports of the Black Sea. 

1. The Pus/zas of Hungary are districts of deep sand, which indicate by 
their appearance that they were once the Iped of a great sea or inland lake. 

IX. Asia. — The Plains of Asia consist of the Asiatic division 
of the great Northern Plain of the Eastern Continent, and of the 
Plains of Eastern and Southern Asia. The Northern Plain com- 
prises Siberia and Indei)endent Tartary. 

1. The Plain of Siberia stretches from the foot of the Ural Mountains to 
the eastern extremity of the Continent, and from the Altai Mountains to the 
Arctic Ocean. The land is so low that at Irkoutsk, near the southern limits 
of the Plain, the elevation is but 1240 feet. On the banks of the River 
Irtysh there is a district twice the area of the British Isles, almost unin- 
habited, though the richness of its soil, and the abundance of pasture and 
timber-land, renders it capable of supporting a numerous population. Far- 
ther north, near the shores of the Arctic, all is a wide-spreading desolation 
of salt steppes, boundless swamps, and lakes of salt and fresh water. The 
cold is so intense, that the spongy soil is perpetually frozen to the depth of 
several hundred feet. 

What local names are given to certain districts of the European Plains? — Where are 
the Steppes? — Heaths? — Landes? — Which are the principal Plains of Southern 
Europe? — Describe the Pustzas. — Name the principal Plains of Asia. — What divisions 
does the Northern Plain comprise? — Describe the great Plain of Siberia. 



20 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



2. The Plain of Tiirheslan, or Independent Tartary, extends from the 
south-western part of Siberia to the northern limits of the Plateau of Iran, 
or Persia. This vast region contains extensive tracts of desert land, but has 
also much that is well adapted for pasturage and tillage. In the north, the 
Kirghis Steppes support wandering tribes of herdsmen, whose wealth con- 
sists in their immense number of horses, sheep, goats, and camels. At the 
south, in Bokhara, the inhabitants are chiefly devoted to agriculture. 




.-y^-pe^ 



View on the Plain of Turkestan. 



X. The principal Plains of Eastern and Southern Asia are — 

1. The Plain of Mantcliooria. — This region, separated by mountain chains 
from Siberia, Mongolia, and China, is drained by the waters of the River 
Amoor, and contains an area of more than 800,000 square miles. The Rus- 
sians have lately taken possession of the northern part, near the banks of 
the Amoor, and have established fortifications and a naval arsenal near the 
mouth of the river. 

2. The Plain of China embraces the north-eastern part of the country of 
that name, extending from the shores of the East and Yellow Seas to a dis- 
tance of 500 miles inland. It is well watered, and is one of the best-culti- 
vated and most populous tracts on the globe. 

3. The Plains of Faj-ther India skirt the coast of that Peninsula. They 
are well watered and highly fertile tracts. 

4. The Plain of Hindoosian separates tlie table-lands of Southern India 
from the region of the Himalaya Mountains, and is afertile lowland, watered 
by the River Ganges and its tributaries. To the west of the Plain of the 
Ganges is a sandy tract, called the Great Indian Desert, which extends 
nearly to the banks of the River Indus. This river, in the lower part of its 
course, waters a very fertile tract. 

5. The Plains of ilie Tigris and Euphrates. — Near the upper courses of 
these rivers the country is mostly bai-ren; but towards their mouths, and 
extending around the head of the Persian Gulf, it possesses great natural fer- 
tility, though it is now very thinly inhabited, and is only productive to an 
extremely limited extent. Immediately to the west of the Euphrates begins 
the Syrian Desert, extending to the mountain region of the Syrian coast. 

A narrow belt of low land, called the Tehama, extends around three sides 
of the Arabian Peninsula, between the mountains and the sea. This is a 
hot, dry, and sterile tract. 

XI. Africa. — The principal Plains of Africa, known with suf- 
ficient accuracy to attempt their description, are the Sahara or 
Great Desert, and the Plains of Egypt, Central Africa, and South 
Africa. 

Where is the Plain of Independent Tartary? — Name the principal Plains of Eastern 
and Southern Asia. — Where is the Plain of Mantchooria? — Describe the Plain of 
China — The Plains of Farther India. — Where is the Plain of Hindoostan ? — Describe 
the Plains of the Tigris and Euphrates. — Where is the district of low land called the 
Tehama? — Name the principal Plains of Africa. 



1. The SaJiara, or Sea of Sand. — This immense Desert extends from the 
Atlas Mountains southward to about the 15th parallel of north latitude, from 
750 to 1200 miles in width; and stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the 
Valley of the Nile, a distance of 3000 miles. Its area is equal to four-fifths 
that of the United States, and its average elevation is about 1500 feet above 
the sea. This vast region is in general almost destitute of water, and is the 
most parched, barren, and terrific waste upon the globe. 

The Oases of the Desert are fertile spots, which occur here and there amidst 
the general desolation. They are usually at a lower level than the face of 
the country around them, and some of them are of considerable extent, con- 
taining a dense population. 

2. Plain of Egyi^t. — The Valley of the Nile, in Egypt, is a Plain of limited 
extent, but of inexhaustible fertility. Its area is about half that of the State 
of Maine ; yet in former times it supported a population one-third as great 
as that of the entii-e United States in 1850. 

3. Central Africa.- — South of the Sahara, and including the inland basin 
of Lake Tchad and a part of the country drained by the Niger, is the exten- 
sive Plain of Central Africa. It is a region of great fertility, and contains 
a dense population. In the western part of its extent, the southern bound- 
ary of this Plain is the Kong Mountains ; further east, its southern limits 
are undefined. 

4. South Africa. — A portion of South Africa, north of the Table-land, has 
recently been explored by zealous English Missionaries. They report the 
discovery of a level Plain, several hundred square miles in extent, watered 
by many large rivers. They were informed by the natives, that during the 
rainy season the rivers overflow the country to such an extent that commu- 
nication is carried on by means of canoes. 

XII. Australia. — Geographers possess little knowledge of the 
interior of the great island of Australia. It is supposed to con- 
sist of a vast barren plain. That it is low land, is inferred from 
the sluggish movements of the rivers ; that it is a barren tract 
of country, from the small number of those rivers. The limited 
explorations of the interior confirm these suppositions. 

XIII. The Eastern Continent is remarkable for the extent of 
its waste land. A great belt of desert stretches across Northern 
Africa into Central Asia. It is a dreary zone of sand, gravel, 
or salt-marsh, and extends over nearly one-third of the circum- 
ference of the globe. Tracts of desert land occur in other 
parts of the Eastern Continent, and in the Western also. Many 
other smaller sections, though not wholly barren, have only a 
scanty growth of grass or heath ; or like the Llanos of South 
America, are stripped of their vegetation during a part of the 
year. 

XIV. Recapitulation. — From this and the preceding chapters, 
it appears that the land-surface of the earth consists of high 
lands and low lands. The high lands comprise Mountains and 
Plateaus, and include all elevations of more than 2000 feet : they 
are always found in immediate connection. The low lands are 
elevations less than 2000 feet above the level of the sea, and 
comprise by far the larger portion of the earth's surface : they 
are the scenes of man's highest civilization, containing the 
greatest cities and densest population. The attentive student 
has not failed to perceive that large tracts of the land have not 
yet been explored, as the interior of Africa and Australia ; and 
that other large tracts, as portions of Asia and South America, 
are yet only imperfectly known. 

Describe the Sahara. — What are Oases? — Describe the Plain of Egypt — The Plain 
of Central Africa. — State the result of recent explorations in South Africa. — What it 
supposed to be the character of the surface of the interior of Australia? — For what is 
the Eastern Continent remarkable? — Kecapitulate the subjects of this and the pre- 
ceding chapters. 



9 






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22 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 





x'^K^' 





Mount Etna. 



CHAPTER VII. 

VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES 

I. Volcanoes are mountains whicli send forth from their sum- 
mits or sides columns of flame and smoke, and vast quantities of 
ashes and melted lava. They are aptly styled in various lan- 
guages, "burning mountains." 

The term is derived from Vuloanus, the name which the ancients gave 
their imaginary god of fire. 

II. The crater of a volcano is the funnel-shaped mouth through 
■which the melted matter issues. 

III. The lava emitted from volcanoes generally forces for itself 
a passage through the sides of the mountains, hut sometimes it 
overflows the top of the crater. Upon its first emergence, the 
lava has in general about the consistency of honey, hence it pro- 
ceeds slowly. The surface soon cools and acquires a hard crust, 
but the interior retains its heat, and remains fluid for a long 
time. 

A mass of lava, 500 feet thick, thrown up from the volcano Jorullo, in 
Mexico, in 1759, was found smoliing, by Humboldt, in 1804, forty-five years 
afterwards, and still in so heated a state that a cigar might be lighted in 
any of the crevices, a few inches below the surface ; and smoke vras observed 
to issue from it in 1827, sixty-eight years after its ejection. 

The amount of lava thrown out by a single eruption is often enormous. 
Perhaps the most prodigious fiery flood on record was that which proceeded 
from one of the volcanoes in Iceland, in 1783. The lava flowed in two opposite 
directions ; 50 miles in length, by 12 or 15 miles in width in one, and 40 
miles in length, by 7 in breadth in the other, with an average depth of 100 
feet, and in some places amounting to 600 feet. The mass has been calcu- 
lated at nearly twenty thousand millions of cubic yards, or forty thousand 
millions of tons ; which, if accumulated, would cover the city of New York 
with a mountain rivalling in height the Peak of Teneritfe. 

IV. The ashes, stones, and dust ejected diu-ing an eruption 
frequently darken the air for hours, and even for days. Boiling 

What are Volcanoes? — What is the crater of a Volcano ? — Through what part of the 
mountain does the lava generally force for itself a passage? — Give an example of the 
length of time required for the lava to cool. — Give an example also of the amount of 
lava thrown out at a single eruption. — Name some other substances ejected from Vol- 
canoes beside lava. 



water has flowed copiously from Vesuvius during its eruptions. 
Discharges of water, mud, and even small fishes have been 
observed in the case of the Andean volcanoes ; but these are not 
to be ranked with proper volcanic phenomena. 

A putrid fever which prevailed in 1691, at Ibarra, a mountain town, 
north of Quito, was ascribed to the quantity of dead fish ejected from the 
volcano of Imbamburu. The fish, locally known by the name of "prena- 
dillas," abound in the under-ground reservoirs of the district, and are car- 
ried out by internal disturbance through crevices, with the water and mud 
of pools. 

The area over which ashes have been strown from volcanic eruptions, and 
the thickness to which they have fallen, indicate the enormous quantities 
ejected. Ashes from Vesuvius, a. d. 472, 473, fell in Constantinople, Syria, 
and Egypt. In 1815, the sun was obscured, and the streets and houses in 
Java were ftrewed with ashes from Tomboro, in Sumbawa, a distance of 
300 miles. They were found floating in the ocean to the west of Sumatra, 
at a distance of more than a thousand miles, forming a stratum two feet 
thick, through which vessels with difficulty forced their way. It was not a 
stream of lava from Vesuvius, but simply its ashes, that buried the cities of 
Pompeii and Ilerculaneum. 

The height and distance to which stones and other projectiles are thrown 
from volcanoes, furnishes an additional illustration of the immense subterra- 
nean power which causes the eruption. A block of stone, weighing more 
than 200 tons, was thrown from Cotopaxi a distance of nine miles. 

Stones have been observed to ascend from Vesuvius so high, that they were 
eleven seconds in falling, which gives an elevation of 2000 feet. During an 
eruption in Teneriffe, in 1798, the mountain Chahorra threw out stones 
which occupied from twelve to fifteen seconds in falling, which indicates a 
height of from 2500 to 3600 feet. Sir W. Hamilton says that in the erup- 
tion of Vesuvius, in 1779, jets of lava having the appearance of columns of 
fire were thrown up to the height of at least 10,000 feet. 

V. So far as relates to the eruptive force, steam-power appears 
to be a perfectly adequate agent, and sudden evolutions of it will 
explain the fits and starts of volcanic action. 

VI. The energy of volcanic action is most strikingly displayed 
in the elevation of great masses of land constituting islands (see 
page 12,) and the formation of new mountains. 

To what was the putrid fever at Ibarra ascribed ? — Give examples to show the area 
over which ashes have been strewn.— Give examples to illustrate the weight, distance, 
and height to which stones have been thrown. 

What appears to be an adequate agent to produce these eruptions? 

How else is the energy of volcanic action displayed ? 



VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES. 



23 



In tlio Neapolitan district, in Italy, in 1538, the Jlonte Nucvo, 440 feet 
bigli, and iSOOO feet in circumference, was thrown up in 4.S hours. 

In 1GG9, the Monte Kossi, 450 feet high, and two miles in circumference, 
was thrown up on the slope of Etna, in Sicily. 

In 1759, the mountain of Jorullo, 1C95 feet in height, arose out of a plain 
to the west of the city of Mexico. 

The volcano of Isalco, in San Salvador, Central America, now from 1500 
to 2000 feet high, has arisen within the last eighty years, and covers a tract 
of land which formerly constituted a fine estate. This volcano is in a con- 
stant state of eruption, discharging ashes and scori;\; at regular intervals 
of aliiiut a quarter of an hour each. 

VII. The volcanic mountains are either active, intermittent, 
or extinct. The frequency and character of their eruptions ap- 
pears to be related to their height. The eruptions of low moun- 
tains being generally more frequent and less violent. 




Peak of Teneriffe. 

Lofty mountains, such as the Peak of Teneriffe, Mount Etna, and Coto- 
paxi, have periods of rest, sometimes amounting to centuries. Stromboli, 
on the contrary, a low mound, little more than 2000 feet in height, has been 
uninterruptedly active from the earliest dawn of authentic history, and has 
been appropriately named " the Light-house of the Mediterranean." 

Extinct volcanoes are those which have plainly once been the outlets of 
fire, but whose activity has been suspended for ages. Some of these may 
really belong to the intermittent class, now experiencing a long state of 
inaction. 

The volcano of Tolima, in New Grenada, in South America, had been at 
rest for two centuries, when a violent outburst in 1827 showed that the 
internal forces were still at .work. Imbamburu, a volcano of Equador, had 
been long considered extinct, when in the year 1691 it overwhelmed a large 
tract of country with mud and water. 

From the period of the earliest historical records to a. d. 79, when Ilereu- 
laneum and Pompeii were destroyed. Mount Vesuvius seems to have been 
inactive. Since then it has been at least eighty times in action. There are 
fifty-five recorded eruptions of Mount Etna between the years 480 b. c. and 
A. D. 1832. Between the commencement of the eleventh century and 1845, 
there have been twenty-five outbursts of Mount Ilecla, in Iceland. 

VIII. Nearly all the active volcanoes upon the globe are 
limited to the immediate vicinity of the ocean. Many are found 
on islands, others in chains of mountains extending along the 
line of the coast, others at the base of such chains between them 

Give examples of mountains which have been formed by volcanic agency. — To what 
does the frequency and character of volcanic eruptions appear to relate 1 — What is the 
difference ia the character of the eruptions of high and low mountains? — Illustrate 
your statement by examples. — What are extinct volcanoes? — Give examples of inter- 
mittent volcanoes. 



and the coast. Humboldt conceives that coast lands are simply 
favorable to eruptions, because they form the sides or edges of 
the deep sea-basin, which, covered with water, and lying many 
thousand feet lower than interior sites, offer less resistance to 
subterranean foi'ces. 

The principal exceptions are the Volcanoes of Pechan (white mountain,) 
and Ilochow (burning mountain,) in Western Asia, both of which are about 
1500 miles from the ocean. 

IX. Of all the reasons which have been assigned for a general 
theory of the cause of volcanoes, the simplest and best founded 
is that the centre of our earth is a vast sea of liquid fire, to which 
the volcanoes serve as vents. This sea may remain at rest for 
ages beneath enormous areas, but is liable to be locally excited 
and uplifted by the force of compressed vapor. This theory is 
supported by the fact that the temperature of the earth increases 
regularly at the average rate of one degree for every fifty-four 
feet of descent below the level of the sea. 

X. Volcanoes may be distributed into the two great classes 
of Central and Linear systems. A Central system consists of a 
number of vents grouped together, one of which usually serves as 
a common point of eruption, as the Peak of Teneriffe for the 
seven volcanoes of the Canary Islands. A Linear system consists 
of several vents extending in one direction at no great distance 
from each other, forming as it were chimneys along an extended 
fissure, as the volcanic chain of South America. 

The following table gives the number of volcanoes of each system. It 
includes active and extinct volcanoes, and some perhaps of doubtful exist- 
ence: — 



Centiial Class. 

No. of 
System. Volcanoes. 

1. Etna (Sicily) 1 

2. Vesuvius (Naples) 1 

3. Lipari Islands 2 

4. Jan Mayen 2 

5. Iceland 8 

6. Azores 2 

7. Canary Islands 7 

S. Cape Verde Islands 1 

9. Ascension Island 1 

10. Tristan d'Acunha Island 1 

11. Traverse Islands 1 

12. Trinidad Island 1 

13. Mauritius and Bourbon Islands.. 3 

14. Sandwich Islands 4 

15. Galapagos Islands 1 

Marquesas Islands 1 

Society Islands 1 

Easter Island 1 

Western Asia 3 



16. 
17. 
16. 
19. 



Total 42 



LisEAn Class. 

.Vo. of 
System. Volcanoes. 

1. tSantorini (Greek Islands) 1 

2. Thian Shan Mts. (Central Asi.n) 2 

3. Red Sea 2 

4. Friendly Islands 2 

5. Australasian Islands 13 

6. Sunda Islands S\} 

7. Spice Islands, Phillipiue Islands, 

and Formosa 37 

8. Japan Isl.ands 23 

9. Kurile Islands IS 

10. Kamtsch.atka 21 

11. Ladrone Islands 7 

12. Bonin Sima Islands 2 

13. Aleutian Islands 35 

14. North-west America 10 

15. Mexico 7 

Iti. Central America 38 

17. -West Indies 10 

18. Equador 17 

19. Peru and Bolivia 12 

20. Chili 22 

21. Terra del Fuego and South Shet- 

land Islands 4 

22. Antarctic Land 2 

Total 36a 



The number in both classes amounts to 407; of which 270 are active, and 
of these, 190 belong to the islands and shores of the Pacific Ocean. Indeed, 
this vast ocean seems to be almost surrounded by a great volcanic chain. 

XI. Volcanoes are most numerous in the Torrid Zone ; yet 
they occur in all latitudes. The most northern volcanoes known 
are those of Jan Mayen, latitude 71° north. In the opposite 

To what vicinity are nearly all of the volcanoes upon the globe limited? — AVhat 
reason is assigned by Humboldt for this fact ? — What reason is assigned for a general 
theory of the cause of volcanoes? — By what fact is this theory supported? — Into what 
two classes may volcanoes be distributed ? — What is a Central system ? — What a Linear 
system? — What is the number of volcanoes of both classes? — How many are active? 



24 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. • 



hemisphere, Mount Erebus, an active volcano in Victoria Land, 
is situated amidst the region of eternal ice, within twelve degrees 
of the South Pole. 




Mount Erobus. 

XII. In no part of the globe, of the same extent, are there so 
many volcanoes as in the island of Java. Out of eighty assigned 
to the Linear system of the Sunda Islands, forty-three belong 
to Java ; and in no part of the earth are the eruptions more 
terrific. 

Leopold von Buch, the celebrated geographer, gives the following account 
of one of them : — "On the 8th of October, 1822, about one o'clock in the 
afternoon, a frightful noise was heard in the neighborhood of Galung Gung, 
in Java. The mountain was immediately shrouded in a thick cloud of 
smoke, and streams of hot, muddy, sulphurous water poured down its slopes 
on every side, and carried before them every thing they met with. There 
was then an awful sight in Badang ; the river Tschiwulan sweeping down 
vast multitudes of corpses of men, cattle, rhinoceroses, tigers, antelopes, and 
even entire houses carried with them into the sea. This flood of hot, muddy 
water lasted but two hours, yet these were enough to lay in waste a whole 
province. At three o'clock it had ceased, and there now followed a thick 
rain of ashes and pumice, which utterly destroyed all that had been spared 
of the face of the country, and burnt up all the trees. "At five o'clock all 
was at rest again, and the mountain was seen onoe more. And during this 
short time, every dwelling, every village for many miles round, had been 
covered with mud ; in places, which just before had been level plains, hills 
had arisen, and a vast number of human beings had ceased to live." 

XIII. Several of the mountain peaks of the north-western sec- 
tion of the United States are supposed to be volcanic, and smoke 
and ashes are said to have arisen from them at different times. 
Mt. St. Helen's, in Washington Territory, north of the Columbia 
River, has been recently in a state of eruption. In 1842, ashes 
and cinders from this mountain fell at Fort Vancouver, about 
fifty miles distant, slightly covering the country in its vicinity. 
There are indications of volcanic action, in former times, in many 
parts of this region of country. 

XIV. Salses, or mud volcanoes ; the Fires of Bakou ; the Fire- 
Hills and Fire-Springs of China ; and the Geysers of Iceland, 
are volcanic phenomena, undoubtedly owing their origin to the 
same cause as that of volcanoes. 

1. Mud Volcanoes occur in Sicily, in Java, and south-west of the Caspian 
Sea in Asia. They are small hillocks, from which are discharged occasion- 
ally various gases, hot water, mud, and sometimes columns of fire. 

2. Fires of Bakou. — The town of Bakou is on the south-west coast of the 
Caspian Sea, and about ten miles from it is situated the remarkable tract 
called the " Field of Fire." It is a hollow expanse, full of fissures, from 
which an inflammable gas continually issues, producing a blue flame. This 
Bpot was formerly one of the most celebrated " shrines of grace" among the 

Repeat Leopold von Buch's account of the volcanic eruption in Java. — In what part 
of the United States are there Volcanoes ? — Where do Mud Volcanoes occur? — Describe 
the Fires of Bakou. 



Ghebers, or fire-worshippers of Persia ; and a few still find their way to it, 
even from India. 

3. Fire-Hills and Fire-Springs. — The agency of volcanic action is evinced 
in China by numerous Hochans, or fire-hills, and Moising, fire-springs, or 
wells of fire. The latter yield an inflammable gas, which, when lighted, 
burns with a blue flame, and is made of much practical service in evapo- 
rating salt water. A similar spring occurs in Fredonia, in New York, south 
of Lake Brie, the gas from which is used for lighting the town. 

4. The Geysers are an extraordinary collection of about fifty hot springs, 
which occupy an area not exceeding twelve acres, in Iceland, at about the 
distance of thirty-five miles from Mount Hecla. The term is derived from 
the Icelandic word geysa, "to rage," or gys, "to rush out with impetuosity." 
The Great Geyser, the largest of these springs, is a circular mound, on the 
summit of which is a basin, resembling in shape a saucer, about sixty feet 
in diameter, and sis or seven feet deep. In the centre of this basin is a well, 
ten feet in diameter, and 70 feet deep, through which the boiling water rises 
clear as crystal, gradually filling the basin. 

Between grand eruptions there is an interval of a day or more. Their 
approach is announced by hollow, rumbling sounds, which warn the spec- 
tator to retire to a safe distance. The water in the basin boils furiously, 
the earth is slightly shaken, and the agitation increases, till at length a 
column of water is suddenly thrown up with vast force and loud explosions 
to the height of 100 or 150 feet. After playing for a time like an artificial 
fountain, and giving off great clouds of vapor, the basin is emptied, and a 
column of steam rushing up with great violence, terminates the explosion. 




The Geysers of Iceland. 

Prof Shepherd describes the " Pluton Geysers" of California, as situated 
in a deep defile north of San Francisco, in the valley of the Pluton River, 
where he found, in a space of half a mile square, from one to two hundred 
openings, through which the steam issued with violence, sending up dense 
columns of vapor to the height of 200 feet. The roar of the large tubes 
could be heard for a mile or more. 



Earthquakes. 

XV. Earthquakes are those terrible convulsions of nature by 
which towns and villages have been swallowed up, great cities 
destroyed, and even entire continents shaken. They are chiefly 
confined to the volcanic regions of the earth, and undoubtedly 
owe their origin to the same cause as that of volcanoes. 

The shocks are usually most severe in places some distance removed from 
active volcanoes, the vents of the latter appearing to act as a kind of safety- 
valve to the elastic force which, when pent up, so terribly shakes the crust 
of theearth. 

In what country are there Fire-Hills and Fire-Springs? — Describe the Geysers of 
Iceland. — What is said of the Pluton Geysers of California. — What are Earth- 
quakes. 



VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES. 



25 



XVI. Observation gives us little room to doubt tlie intimate '. 
connection of volcanoes and eartbijuakes. Most of tlie great 
eruptions of modern times have been preceded by earthquakes, 
and most of tlie great earthquakes of recent date have been fol- 
lowed by eruptions. 

Stromboli, for the first time upon the reoord of history, had an interval of 
repose immediately preceding the great earthquake of Cahibria, in 1783, 
(luring wliich 40,000 persons perished. The great convulsions of the years 
ISll and 1812, which were felt in the Azores, in the AV'est India Islands, in 
the Valley of the Mississippi, and which destroyed the city of Caraccas in 
South America, in March, 1812, were followed, on the oOth of April, by the 
terrible eruption of the volcano Morne Garou, on the Island of St. Vincent's, 
which had been quiet for nearly a century. 

XVII. The movements of the ground during an earthquake 
are described as being either horizontal, vertical, or rotatory. 

The horizontal movement is the most common and the most harmless. It 
consists of an alternate rising and sinking of the earth in the direction of 
the movement, and may be likened to the undulations of the waves of the 
ocean. 

The mine-like explosion, the vertical action from below upwards, was most 
strikingly manifested in the earthquake of Riobamba, in Equador, Feb. 4, 
1797 ; when the bodies of many of the inhabitants were thrown upon a hill, 
several hundred feet high, on the opposite side of the river from that on 
which the town is situated. 

Rotatory movements are rarely felt, except in the most disastrous and 
appalling catastrophes. They cause a whirling movement of the earth, by 
which, in some cases, buildings are turned round without being thrown 
down, and rows of trees are turned from their parallel direction. Such were 
the movements of the great earthquake of Calabria, in Italy, Feb. 5, 1783, 
which destroved over two hundred towns and villages, and during which 
nearly one hundred thousand persons perished. The face of the country 
was so completely changed by the movements of this earthquake, that many 
disputes afterwards arose as to whom the property should belong which had 
so far shifted its position. 

XVIII. The undulations of earthquakes are propagated in two 
very distinct ways : sometimes extending in a linear direction, 
and sometimes from a centre almost equally in every direction. 

The earthquake of Guadeloupe, Feb. 8, 1842, was a linear one. It was 
felt along a right line from CO to 70 miles in width, from the mouth of the 
Amazon to South Carolina, a distance ofoOOO miles. 

In circular earthquakes, the progress of the shock may be compared to 
the ring-like waves produced on the surface of still water when a stone is 
thrown in. the w.aves growing wider and fainter as the distance increases. 
The great earthquakes of Lisbon and Calabria were of this character. The 
vibrations of the Lisbon earthquake extended over an area fjur times the 
size of Europe. 

XIX. Earthquakes furnish the most striking examples with 
which we are acquainted, of the production of stupendous effects 
in very brief intervals. The most severe are generally the 
shortest in their duration. 

The following brief account of the great earthqu.ake at Lisbon, during 
which 00,000 persons lost their lives, is extracted from a volume published 
in 1757, two years after the catastrophe: — 

"At thirty-iive minutes after nine o'clock, on the morning of the first of 
November, 1755, without tlio least w.arning, except a rumbling noise, not 
unlike the artificial thunder at our theatres, immediately preceding, a most 
dreadful earthquake shook by short but quick vibrations the foundations of 
all Lisbon, so that many of the tallest edifices fell that instant. Then, with 
scarcely a perceptible pause, the nature of the motion changed, and every 
building was tossed like a w.agon driven violently over rough stones, which 
laid in ruins almost every house, church, convent, and public liuilding, with 
,an incredible slaughter of the people. It continued in all about six minutes." 

N.Tme the three movements of E.irthquakes. — Describe .and give examples of eacli. — 
In what two directions are earOuiuake movements propagated? — Describe each. — 
Repeat the account of the Lisbon earthquake. 



The desolation of Caraccas, March 20, 1812, occupied less time. In the 
space of fifty seconds, three great shocks shattered the city, killed 10,000 of 
its inhabitants, and covered the province with ruins. 

XX. Beyond the limits of the volcanic regions, where earth- 
quakes are most numerous and destructive, all countries are 
subject to slight tremors at distant intervals of time. Slight 
shocks have been felt frequently in various parts of the United 
States, and one destructive earthquake has been experienced — 
that of New Madrid, in the winter of the years 1811 and 1812. 

The principjil shock which devastated the town, and extended through the 
Mississippi Valley, from Cincinnati on the east, and North-western Missouri 
on the west, across the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, and at Carac- 
cas, in New Grenada, is thus described by a gentleman who had secured for 
the night the fiat-boat in which he was floating down the Mississippi, at 
New .Madrid : — 

" It was about twelve o'clock, on the clear moonlight night of the 0th of 
February, 1812, when there came a frightful crash, like a sudden explosion 
of artillery, and instantly followed by countless flashes of lightning. The 
Mississippi foamed up like the water in a boiling cauldron, and the stream 
flowed rushing back, while the forest trees near which we lay came cracking 
and thundering down. This fearful 8pect<icle lasted for several minutes, 
•and the fierce flashes of lightning, the rush of the receding waters, and the 
crash of the falling trees, seemed as if they would never end. At sunrise, 
the whole terrible scene was disclosed to our gaze ; and the little town of 
New Madrid, sunken, destroyed, and overflowed to three-fourths of its extent, 
lay more than 500 paces from us, with some of its scattered inhabitants here 
and there visible among its ruins. Of twenty flat-boats and their crews 
which surrounded us on this terrible night, nothing was ever afterwards 
heard !" 

XXI. Earthquake shocks are often preceded or accompanied 
by various sounds. Sometimes, however, the sound is heard after 
the shock, and in some instances no sound whatever is perceived ; 
thus the great earthquake of Eiobamba occurred without any 
noise. 

These sounds are described as greatly diff'ering: dull, rumbling noises, 
sounds like the discharges of cannon, like the clanking of chains, like thunder 
close at hand, or as if vast quantities of glass were broken in caverns under- 
neath the ground, are noticed. 

A striking and unparalleled instance of subterranean noise, unaccompa- 
nied by any trace of an earthquake, is the phenomenon known in the ele- 
vated Mexican Plateau by the name of the " Roaring and the Subterrane.in 
thunder" of Guanaxuato. The noise bog.an about midnight, on the 9th of 
January, 1784, and continued for a month. From the 13th to the IGth of 
January, it seemed to the inhabitants as if heavy clouds lay beneath their 
feet, from which issued alternate slow, rolling sounds, and short, quick claps 
of thunder. The noise, which was limited to a small space, abated as grad- 
ually as it had begun. During its continuance, the inhabitants in great 
dismay fled from the city, and only returned when compelled by the city 
authorities, who sent out the military to force them back. 

XXII. The permanent elevation and subsidence of great tracts 
of land are occasional attendants upon earthquake action. Thus 
the coast of Chili was permanently elevated several feet by the 
great earthquake of 1835. 

During the earthquake of 1092, the city of Port Royal, in Jamaica, with a 
large tract of adjacent land, sunk into the sea. In 1755, the new quay at 
Lisbon, to w hich an immense concourse of people had fled for safety from 
the falling ruins, suddenly sunk, and its place is now occupied by water a 
hundred fathoms deep. In 1819, a town and large tracts of country were 
submerged at the mouth of the river Indus, but at the same time a tract of 
land, fifty miles in length, and in pome parts sixteen in width, was elevated 
aliove the plain ; to this tract, the inhabitants, to distinguish it from artifi- 
cial mounds, gave the name of Ullah Bund (the Mound of God). 

Repeat the account of the New Madrid earthquake. — ^Vbat are some of the sounds 
accoinpanyinjx earthquakes? — State some of the permanent effects attendant upon 
earthquake action. 



26 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 




XXIII. Tremblores, so called in South America, where such 
tremors of the surface are common, occur almost every day in 
certain seasons. Though walls are sometimes split, and objects 
are thrown down, they are little dreaded by the inhabitants. 

Lima has, on an average, forty-five earthquake shocks a year; but long 
habit, and the very prevalent opinion that dangerous shocks are only to be 
apprehended tvro or three times in the course of a century, cause foint move- 
ments of the earth to be regarded there with scarcely more attention than a 
hail-storm in the Temperate Zone. 

XXIV. Recapitulation. — According to the preceding account 
of Volcanoes and Earthquakes, it will be seen that both of these 
wonderful natural phenomena are attributable to the same cause 
— the action of the internal fires of the earth ; that Volcanoes 
may be divided into two classes, the Central and the Linear 
sytems ; that they may also be divided into active, intermittent, 
and extinct; that nearly all the active Volcanoes on the globe 
are near the ocean ; that eruptions of mud, hot water, and steam, 
owe their origin to the same cause as Volcanoes : that the move- 
ments of the ground which accompany Earthquakes are either 
vertical, horizontal, or rotatory; and that both these agencies 
perform important functions in the economy of nature — Volca- 
noes affording the natural opening through which the imprisoned 
gases make their escape, and Earthquakes materially modifying 
the configuration of the land. 



QUESTIONS ON THE CHART. 

Where are volcanoes most numerous : near the coast, or in the interior? — Name any 
volcanoes in the intei'ior of a country, — Are they most numerous along the Atlantic or 
Pacific coast? — Along the coasts of the Indian or the Arctic Ocean? — Name the most 
northern volcano known. — The most southern. — Are they more numerous in the tropical 
regions than in the Temperate Zones? 

Name any islands on which there are more than five volcanoes. — In what part of 
America are volcanoes most numerous? — .\re there any in the United States? — In 
Greenland ? — In the West Indies ? — In Europe ? — Can you name any volcanoes of 
recent formation ? 

Do the eruptions of lofty or low volcanoes occur most frequently? — Which are the 
most terrific: the bursting forth of lofty volcanoes, or of low ones?- — What kiu.' of a 
volcano is Stromboli? — Cotopaxi? — Mt. Hecla? — Vesuvius? — Mt. Etna? — Which would 
probably be most destructive : the eruption of Mt. Cotopaxi, or that of Stromboli ? 



Where are there mud volcanoes? — Where are the fires of Bakou? — What are they? 
— Where are the Geysers ? — The Pluton Geysers ? — -Are there any springs in the United 
States which yield an inflammable gas ? — Are there similar springs in any other part 
of the world? 



Do earthquakes occur in the regions where there are volcanoes, or in districts remote 
from them ? — Where are they usually most severe : near the volcano, or some distance 
from it? — Are the shocks of an earthquake usually accompanied by any noises? 

Has any part of the United States ever sufi'ered from the shock of an earthquake? — 
Give a description of the most destructive earthquake of which you have read? — Have 
severe shocks of earthquakes ever been experienced in Europe? — In South America? 



What are the so-called Tremblores ? — Where are they common? — How are slight 
earthquake shocks regarded in Lima? — What is supposed to be the cause of volcanoes 
and earthquakes? — P,ecapitulate the subjects of this chapter. 



PAKT II. 



HYDROGRAPHY. 




Hydrography, (from two Greek words, signifying "water," and "to describe,") is that department of Physical Geography 
which treats of the water upon the earth. The subject will be considered under the general divisions of Springs, Rivers, Lakes, 
the Ocean, and Oceanic movements. 

Water, one of the most abundant substances in nature, chemically considered, is a compound of two gases — oxygen and 
hydrogen : in the proportions of eight parts, by weight, of the former, to one of the latter. When pure, it is a transparent 
and colorless liquid, destitute of smell, and nearly without taste. It is rarely found, however, in a pure state, being variously 
affected by different matters with which it has come in contact. 

Different bodies of water upon the globe vary in their composition, (some being fresh, others salt,) in their temperature, and in 
their color. The subject of temperature will be considered in the article Temperature, page 40, Other peculiarities will bo 
described in connection with the general divisions already enumerated. 



CHAPTER I. 

SPRINGS. 

]. Springs are fountains of water, which gush forth from the 
ground, flowing from reservoirs underneath the surface. They 
may be classified as perennial or constant, intermittent, and 
periodical. 

Springs derive their supplies from water raised into the atmosphere hy 
evaporation, which is again deposited on the earth in the form of rain, hail. 

Of what does Hydrography treat? — Under what divisions will the suViject be consi- 
dered ? — What is the chemical composition of water ? — In what do bodies of water vary ? 



snow.ordew. Apart of the water thus deposited is drained from the surface 
into streams or rivers, or again returned to the atmosphere by evaporation, or 
devoted to the purposes of animal and vegetable life. The remainder enters 
the ground through porous beds, or by means of tissures in rocks, and con- 
tinues to sink until arrested by strata, which renders its further progress 
impossible ; when the continued pressure from .above forces it to gush forth 
as a spring, larger or smaller, according to the supplies it has received. 

II. Perennial springs show no diminution in a long-continued 
drought. The reservoirs of such springs must be very exten- 
sive ; so considerable as not to be materially affected from any 
cause. 



What are Springs? — How may they be classified? — State the manner in which 
Springs are formed. — What are Perennial Springs? 



28 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



III. Intermittent springs depend entirely upon the prevailing 

character of the season. They gush abundantly after heavy 

rains ; but flow feebly, and often completely fail, in dry weather. 

Such springs are common in a gently rolling, or moderately 

elevated district. 

W. Periodical springs flow only at regular intervals, and for 

a limited time. Such springs are rare. The far-famed Pool of 

Siloam is an example. 
The flow uf springs of this class may be explained on the well-known 

principle, that water, in whatever situation it is placed, always tends to 

seek its lowest level. 

In the figure at the side, let A B C be a 
syphon-shaped fissure leading from the 
reservoir in the ground, D E, which is 
supplied through crevices extending from 
the surface. When this reservoir is filled 
as high as the line a b, even with the 
highest point in the fissure, the water will 
commence to flow, and continue until the 
reservoir is exhausted down to the line 
c d. It will then cease until again filled 
to the line a b. 

V. Artesian wells, from the ancient Artesium, (modern Artois, 
a province of France, where they have long been in use,) are 
artificial springs constructed on the principle of natural springs. 

The annexed diagram of a supposed section of country will represent 
the theory on which Artesian wells are sunk. They are formed by boring 
into the ground, and sinking a tube until a subterranean reservoir of water 
is reached. If the sources whence this reservoir is supplied are at a higher 
level than the surface of the well, the pressure from above will force the water 
up the tube, sometimes in jets many feet in height. 





Let P P represent a bed of clay impervious to water, ABC strata through which 
water cannot pass, and D E F strata into which the water that falls on the surface 
penetrates. If, then, pipes be sunk at a b c into the strata D E F respectively, the 
pressure from above will foroe the water up the tubes to the surface. 

These wells are sometimes of great depth, and enormous quantities of 
water flow from them. The famous well of Grenelle, at Paris, is 1686 feet 
deep; and throws up, in 24 hours, 744,490 gallons of water. 

The importance of Artesian wells can scarcely be over-estimated. It has 
been proved that in some desert regions, Arabia for example, water can 
be obtained in abundance from underground reservoirs by sinking these 
wells. Possibly a series of Artesian wells might diminish the perils of the 
passage of the Sahara. 

VI. The water of most springs is fresh, but in many it is salt. 
The most important in the United States are those at Syracuse, 
in New York, and near the Kanawha River, in Virginia, which 
are very rich, and extensively evaporated for table-salt. 

VII. There are numerous springs, especially in the United 
States and Europe, variously impregnated with mineral matter, 
which are much resorted to for medicinal purposes. Among the 
most noted in the United States are : Saratoga Springs, in New 
York ; the Sulphur Springs, of Virginia ; and the Blue Licks, of 
Kentucky. 

What are Intermittent Springs? — Periodical Springs ? — E.xplain the principle on 
which Periodical Springs flow.— What are Artesian Wells? — E.xplain the principles on 
which they are sunk. — Give examples of Salt Springs and Mineral Springs. 



CHAPTER. II. 
RIVERS. 

I. Rivers are streams of water flowing in a channel on land, 
toward the ocean, a lake, or another river. They have their 
origin in springs, or flow from lakes, or have their source in the 
melting of snow and the ice of glaciers. They are important aids 
to civilization, being natural channels of communication between 
inland regions, and affording great facilities for commercial inter- 
course, especially since the discovery of steam navigation. 

II. The basin of a river is the whole extent of country drained 
by it ; that is, all the region which contributes its waters to the 
formation of the river. The basin of the Hudson River, for 
example, is the entire tract of country included within a line 
which should pass through the source of each river, creek, brook, 
rill, or stream, which flows into it. The greatest river-basins are 
in America ; the smallest, in Europe. 

III. The margin of country which separates one basin from 
another is called its water-parting, or water-shed ; the waters 
flowing from this line in different directions. The ridge of the 
roof of a house is a familiar illustration. A water-shed is some- 
times a lofty range of mountains, as the Andes, the waters on 
the west of which flow into the Pacific, while those on the east 
reach the Atlantic ; but more frec[ncntly a slight elevation which 
turns the water in different directions. 

The water-shed between the basins of the Mississippi and St. Lawrence is 
a slightly-elevated ridge, not far from the chain of great lakes from which 
the St. Lawrence flows. There are numerous examples, in the Western 
States, of buildings so situated that the rain which falls on one side flows into 
the Mississippi, thence into the Gulf of Mexico ; while that which falls on 
the other, flows into the St. Lawrence, thence into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 
So slight is the elevation of the water-parting between the lakes which form 
the sources of the Mississippi and the Red River of the north, which flows 
through Winnipeg Lake and Nelson's River into Hudson's Bay, that after 
a heavy rain the country is overflown, and boats may pass from one to the 
other. 

Where the water-sheds are low, rivers are frequently united by canals, 
thus promoting navigation. The Erie Canal, the most important work of 
this character in the world, connects Lake Erie and the Hudson River. The 
Mississippi and St. Lawrence Rivers are connected by several canals. 

There are examples of river-basins so running into each other, that water 
communication subsists naturally between two primary streams. The most 
remarkable case of this kind, long deemed by geographers impossible, is the 
bifurcation of the Orinoco. 

In the Plains of Esmeralda, the Orinoco sends off' a branch to the South, 
the Cassaquaire, which flows a distance of 180 miles into the Rio Negro, one 
of the branches of the Amazon. It is a hundred yards wide where it leaves 
the Orinoco, and 550 at its junction with the Rio Negro. 

IV. The course of rivers is in general very winding : a wise 
provision of nature, affording means of communication to a much 
larger area of country, and preventing that rapidity of currents 
which would render navigation impracticable. 

What are Rivers? — What is the basin of a River? — What do you understand by the 
water-shed of a River ? — Give examples to illustrate the difference in the elevation of 
water-sheds. — What advantages result from the winding course of most Rivers? 



RIVERS. 



29 



Fiills, OCO janls wide, are IGJ feet in Ijeight. A cloud of mist puiiits out tlio 
locality at a great distance, and its continuous roar is heard for many miles 

The Falls of St. Anthony, 17 feet in height; Trenton Falls, in New York, 
which descend by cascades 312 feet in two miles; Passaic Falls, near 
Patterson, New Jersey, 70 feet high ; and the Falls of iMontm<irency,a river 
in Canada East, near Quebec, which have a perpendicular descent in an 
unbroken sheet f 240 feet, are much visited and greatly admired by 
tourists. 



V. The size of rivers depends updu various causes : the 
length of their course, the extent of their basins, the rain-pro- 
tlucing character of the climate, and connection with mountains 
covered with eternal snow. The St. Lawrence, Indus, Lena, and 
Ganges, are estimated to discharge annually about an equal 
quantity of water ; the Nile and Yang-tse-Kiimg each about two 
and one-fourth times as much; the Mississippi about three times ; 
and the Amazon, the mightiest of rivers, about twelve times as 
much. These estimates are to be considered as mere approxima- 
tions, there being no data on which any very accurate calculations 
can be made. 

\l. The velocity of a river depends upon the form of its 
cliannel, the slope of its bed, and the volume of water. Moun- 
tain streams, were it not for the friction of the sides and bottom 
of their beds, would become irresistible torrents. The most rapid 
and powerful rivers are those deep streams which have a very 
direct course. 

A very slight declivity is sufficient to give the running motion to w;»ter. 
Three inches per mile in a smooth, straight channel, gives a velocity of 
about three miles an hour; a fall of three feet per mile makes a niciuMtain 
torrent. 

VII. The fall ii. the bed of a river is usually indicated by the 
difference between its level at its source and at its mouth. The 
Mississippi, from its source in Lake Itasca, has a fall of 1575 feet. 
The Ganges falls 13,762 feet ; it has, however, numerous rapids 
and cataracts : while the Mississippi has but one precipitous 
descent of 17 feet, and but few rapids. The Danube has a fall 
of 2850 feet ; the Rhine, 7650 feet. The Volga has the least 
fall of any extensive river ; its entrance into the Caspian Sea, 83 
feet below the surface of the ocean, being only 633 feet lower 
than its source, at an elevation of 550 feet above the level of 
the sea. 

AVhen water has once received an impulse, by following a descent, the 
simple pressure of the particles upon each other is sufficient to keep it in 
motion long after its bed has lost all inclination ; the pressure and rate of 
motion being in proportion to its volume. The Amazon has a fall of only 
12 feet in the last 700 miles of its course ; and the La Plata, for 400 miles, 
has a descent of only one-third of an inch in a mile. 

VIII. The slope of the bed of a river, if great, produces a rapid ; 
a greater inclination still, approaching the perpendicular, causes 
a cataract. At high water, caused by inundations or the rise of 
the tides, some rapids disappear, and the river is navigable. The 
rapids of the Ohio River, at Louisville, are navigable at high 
water ; when the water is low, navigation is carried on through 
the canal which is cut around the rapids. The rapid of Riche- 
lieu, in the St. Lawrence, between Quebec and Montreal, appears 
and disappears with the ebb and flow of the tide. Cataracts 
depend for their effect upon the height of the falls, but mainly 
upon the magnitude of the volume of water. 

The Falls of Niagara, perhaps the grandest natural spectacle on the globe, 
occur in the Piiver Niagara, which connects Lake Erie with Lake Ontario. 
The river, before making its final plunge, has a descent in rapids, in less 
than a mile, of about 50 feet: and a still further fall afterwards, before 
reaching Lake Ontario, of lOG feet. Goat Island separates the Falls into 
two parts : the wider, known from its shape as the Ilorse-Shoe Falls, by far 
the most magniticent, is 800 yards in width, and 150 feet high ; the American 

On what does the size of Rivers depend? — Givo examples to illustrate the comparative j What effects are produced by different slopes in the beds of Rivers ? — Name and 
amounts of water discharged by different Rivers. — On what does the velocity of a i describe some of the principal cataracts and water-falls iu the world. — What is the 
River depend ? — By what is the fall in the bi'd of a River indicated ? I delta of a River ? — Name some Rivers which have large deltas. 







View of Trenton Fulls. 

Of other Falls more inaccessible, the great Falls of the Missouri, in 
Nebraska Territory, may be mentioned. These are a succession of rapids 
and cataracts — 20, 47, and 87 feet in perpendicular height; the great river 
descending 300 feet in 17 miles, forming a scene only inferior to Niagara. 

The cataract of Tequendama, near Bogota, is a fall of the river Bogota, a 
branch of the Magdalena, in two perpendicular bounds of 574 feet. This 
fall is described by Humljoldt as "an assemblage of every thing that is 
sublimely picturesque in beautiful scenery." 

The Cauvery, the principal river of Southern India, has two cataracts not 
far from Seringapatam, of extraordinary grandeur: one 350 feet, and the 
other 400 feet in height. 

The Tecazze River, an affluent of the Nile, receives its name, "the terrible," 
from its numerous cataracts, some of which are 100 feet, and others 150 feet 
in height. 

IX. The alluvial soil transported by great rivers is gradually 
deposited as the current slackens. When the coasts are flat, 
and the quantity of matter brought down considerable, deltas are 
formed at their mouth ; so called from their resemblance to the 
Greek letter A (delta). The Mississippi, Ganges, and Nile, have 
large deltas. 

-Many rivers have no deltas, but empty themselves by a single broad, deep, 
and unobstructed channel, in which the navies of the world might ride. 
This circumstance gives importance to many rivers which would otherwise 



30 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



be regarded as of an inferior order. The Hudson, in the United States, 
and Thames, in England, are examples. 

X. Rivers are subject to changes of level, which are either 
irregular or periodical, according to the cause. Irregular changes 
are such as are produced by a casual heavy rain, or they are 
occasioned by peculiar -winds. 

A sudden and heavy rain sometimes magnifies a small stream into an 
irresistible torrent. A strong easterly wind causes a rise in the St. Law- 
rence, which is not affected in its level by rain or drought. A strong west^ 
erly wind blowing from the Gulf of Finland raises the waters of the Neva, 
and has repeatedly threatened the safety of the city of St. Petersburg, which 
is situated upon its banks. 

XI. The periodical changes in the level of rivers are daily, 
semi-annual, and annual. 

A daily v.iriation is that caused by the tide. The more direct the course 
of a river the higher the tidal influence extends. In the Amazon it is per- 
ceptible 550 miles, in the Hudson 150 miles, in the Thames 70 miles. In 
the Mississippi the tidal influence is not perceptible. Another daily varia- 
tion is that in the upper course of streams which descend immediately from 
snow mountains. The heat of the sun, by melting the snow, produces high 
water every day — the increase being greatest in hot days. 

Semi-annual and annual variations distinguish the rivers of tropical 
regions, and of countries bordering on the tropics. They are the effect of 
regular changes of the season, which occur at exactly opposite periods north 
and south of the Equator. 

The Tigris rises semi-annually: first in April, from the melting of the 
snow in the mountain regions of its upper sources ; and secondly, in Novem- 
ber, from periodical rains. The Mississippi rises twice in the year: first in the 
winter, from periodical rains; and second, from March till about June, from 
rains and the melting of snow in its upper sources. 

XII. The greatest river inundations are annual, and are the 
effect of periodical rains. The flood of the Orinoco is at its great- 
est height in August, extending over 600 miles in length, by from 
60 to 90 miles in width, covering the Llanos tlu'ough which it 
flows to the depth of 12 or 14 feet. The Ganges, Niger, and 
Gambia attain their full elevation about the same period. The 
Amazon begins to rise in December, attains its greatest elevation 
in March, and is least in July and August. 

The inundation of the Nile, to which Egypt is indebted for its fertility, 
by the testimony of antiquity has been regular for 3000 years. 

XIII. Rivers may be classified as either Oceanic or Conti- 
nental. Oceanic rivers are those which flow into the sea. They 
may be considered as constituting four distinct systems, namely : 
1. The Arctic system, which includes the rivers flowing into the 
Arctic Ocean. 2. The Atlantic system, or the rivers which flow 
into the Atlantic. 3. The Pacific system. 4. The system of 
the Indian Ocean. 

XrV. The Arctic System. — The rivers of this system drain 
the principal part of the northern slope of the great North 
American Plain, and the larger portion of the great Northern 
Plain of Europe and Asia. They have in general a sluggish 
course, and frequently overflowing their banks, contribute to the 
formation of the extensive marshes in which these desolate 
regions abound. 

The principal rivers of the Arctic system, on the Eastern Continent, are 

To what changes of level are Rivers subject? — By what are irregular changes pro- 
duced? — Give examples of such changes. — Name the different periodical changes. — By 
what are daily variations caused? — Semi-annual and annual? — Give examples of each. 
— Into what two classes may Rivers be divided? — What are Oceanic Rivers? — Name 
the four systems of the Oceanic Rivers. 



the Obi, Lena, Yenesei, and Dwina ; and on the Western, the Mackenzie, 
and Great Fish or Back's Rivers. In the lower parts of their course, all these 
rivers are frozen for more than half of the year, .and some of them for nine 
months in the year. 

XV. The Atlantic System.. — The Atlantic Ocean receives the 
waters of the largest rivers in the world, and drains more than 
one-third of the entire land surface of the globe. This system 
includes not only those rivers which flow directly into the ocean, 
but those also which empty into Hudson's Bay, the Gulf of 
Mexico, and the Caribbean, Baltic, Black, and Mediterranean 
Seas. 

The Amazon, La Plata, Mississippi, Orinoco, and St. Lawrence, are the 

largest rivers of the Atlantic system upon the Western Continent ; and the 
Nile, Niger, and Danube, are the largest upon the Eastern. The rivers 
which fiow into the Atlantic are not less remarkable for their size, and for 
the extent of country drained by them, than for the immense facilities they 
afford for inland navigation ; thus the navigable waters of the Amazon and 
its tributaries are estimated to exceed 50,000 miles, and those of the Missis- 
sippi and its branches are estimated at not less than 25,000 miles. 

XVI. The Pacific System. — The Pacific, though much the 
largest ocean, drains only about one-third as great an extent of 
country as the Atlantic. From the Western Continent it only 
receives two rivers of any considerable size, the Columbia and 
Colorado ; from the Eastern, it receives the waters of the rivers 
Amour, Yang-tse-Kiang, and Hoang Ho, each of which drains 
extensive regions that are little known. 

XVII. The System of the Indian Ocean. — The rivers which 
flow into the Indian Ocean drain the southern part of Asia, a 
narrow strip of land along the eastern coast of Africa, and the 
greaterpart of Australia. The 

entire region watered by these 
rivers is about half the extent 
of that drained by the Atlantic, 
and about one-third greater 
than that drained by the 
Pacific. 

The principal rivers of this sys- 
tem are the Ganges, Brahmaputra, 
Irrawady, and Indus. They are 
all remarkable for the extent of 
their deltas. That of the Ganges 
is 60 miles in length, and occupies 
120 miles of coast. Delta of the Ganges. 

XVIII. Continental rivers are those which never reach the 
ocean, but flow into lakes unconnected with it, or become absorbed 
and lost in sandy deserts. Most of the continental rivers are 
in Central and Western Asia. The rivers which flow into the 
Caspian Sea, Dead Sea, and Sea of Aral, are continental. 

The Volga, which drains an area of 580,000 square miles, is the largest 
continental river upon the globe. In Fremont Basin, Utah, there are 
numerous examples of considerable rivers which lose themselves in the 
sands of that desolate region ; Humboldt's River, 280 miles in length, is the 
largest of them. The river Desaguadero, which flows from Lake Titicaca, 
in Bolivia, is lost in lakes and swamps, after a southerly course of about 
300 miles. 

Describe the Rivers of the Arctic System. — Name the principal Rivers of this sj's- 
tem. — How great an extent of country does the Atlantic drain? — For what are the 
Rivers (lowing into the Atlantic remarkable? — Name the principal Rivers of the Pa- 
cific system. — What sections are drained by the Indian Ocean ? — What are Continental 
Rivers? — Give examples of Rivers of this class. 




VS V- - 

*°°\/jlfOFTirS OF T0^ 



li>'- 



LAKES. 



31 



XIX. Some peculiarities of river systems and particular rivers 
remain to be mentioned. 1. The channels of main rivers are not 
always increased in width by the additional waters of tributary 
streams : the Mississippi is no broader after receiving the great 
volumes of water from the Missouri and the Ohio: of course 
its channel is deeper. 2. The Nile is remarkable for not receiv- 
ing a single brook from its junction with the Toeazze to the 
Mediterranean, a distance of 1500 miles ; a fact without a parallel 
elsewhere upon the globe. 3. The meeting of great rivers with 
strong oceanic currents and tides frequently occasions a violent 
disturbance of the waters. The dreaded prororocea of the Amazon, 
from which fishermen and mariners flee in great dismay, and the 
terrific hore of the Hoogly, off the mouth of the Ganges, are 
occasioned by such collisions. 



CHAPTER III. 
LAKES. 

I. A Lake is a collection of water nearly or quite surrounded 
by land. The water of most lakes is fresh, yet that of a consi- 
derable number is salt. Some salt lakes are termed seas, as the 
Caspian Sea. Lakes may be divided into four classes. 

II. The first class embraces those which receive no running 
water, and have no outlet. They commonly occupy hollows — 
extinct volcanic craters — and receive their supplies from springs 
which burst forth from the bottom of the lake. 

III. The second class comprises those which have an outlet, 
but receive no running water ; such lakes derive their supplies 
in the same manner as the first class. They are commonly of 
small extent, and often form the sources of rivers. 

IV. The third class includes those lakes which receive streams 
of water, but have no outlet. Such lakes are not numerous, and 
their waters are usually salt. 

Until very recently it was supposed that all lakes of this class were salt, 
and it may stillbe proved that such is the fact. The only exception, if 
exception there be, is Lake Tchad, in Central Africa, which is known to be 
a body of fresh water, and which is now supposed to have no outlet. Recent 
explorations have proved that it has no connection with the rivers flowing 
westward into the Atlantic, and it is believed to be at a lower level than the 
Nile, thus rendering it impossible that its waters should flow into that river. 

The principal salt lakes of the Western Continent occur on elevated table- 
land, as Great Salt Lake, in the Great Basin of Utah ; those of the Eastern 
Continent, on the contrary, occupy a great depression on the earth's surface : 
the Caspian Sea being 83 feet below the Black Sea, and the surface of the 
Dead Sea being more than 1300 feet below that of the Mediterranean. 

Salt lakes generally appear to be decreasing in size, losing more water by 
evaporation than is supplied by their tributaries. The Sea of Aral is 
diminishing rapidly. The Caspian Sea, though it receives through its 70 
mouths the majestic volume of the Volga, the largest river in Europe, as 
also the Ural and other large streams, decreases, instead of increasing, in 
size. Captain Stansbury reports with reference to the region of the Great 
Salt Lake, that " There must have been here at some former period a vast 
inland sea, extending for hundreds of miles." 

Name other peculiarities of some Rivers. — What is a Lake ? — Into how many classes 
may Lakes be divided? — Describe the first class — the second — the third. — Is thewater 
of Lakes of the third class generally fresh or salt? — Give examples of them. 



The water of most of these lakes is much more salt than that of the ocean. 
The Oceanic waters contain about 3| per cent, of salt; Great Salt Lake, 20 
percent.; the Dead Sea, 2G per cent.; and Lake Elton, 29 per cent. Lake 
Elton furnishes more than two-thirds of the salt consumed in Russia. 

V. Dr. Rebmann, the zealous African missionary, reports the 
recent discovery of an immense inland sea or lake in Central 
Africa, south of the Equator. It is said to be without an outlet, 
and "twice as large as the Black Sea, including the Sea of 
Azov." The outlines of this great sea, as reported by the 
learned missionary, are traced on the Hydrographical map ; but 
as yet we are possessed of little information with reference to it. 

VI. The fourth class, by far the most numerous, comprises 
those lakes which both receive and discharge streams of water. 
Lake Superior is an example. 

Collections of water of this character are most extensively distributed in 
northern latitudes. The great chain between the United States and Canada, 
of which the River St. Lawrence forms the outlet, is estimated to contain 
half the fresh water upon the surface of the globe. 




^'icw on Lalie Ciourge. 

The waters of many lakes of this class are very transparent, and of the 
purest azure hue : as the Lake of Geneva, in Switzerland, Great Bear Lake, in 
British America, and Lake George, in New York. Lakes Superior and Huron 
are much admired by tourists for the clearness and purity of their w.aters. 
Lake Sir-i-kol, in Asia, the most elevated lake known, is 15,600 feet above 
the level of the sea. It forms the source of the river Amoo. 

Lake Titicaca, situated on the Great Plateau of the Andes, in South Ame- 
rica, usually discharges its waters through the river Desaguadero ; but some- 
times the river reverses its course, and flows into the lake, instead of from 
it. This was the case for thirty days in the year 1846. The waters of this 
lake are brackish, and Lieut. Gibbon reports that it is " gradually filling up." 

VII. Recapitulation. — From this, and the two preceding 
chapters, it appears that the fresh water upon the globe is dis- 
tributed into Springs, Rivers, and Lakes. That the Springs are 
perennial, intermittent, or periodical. That the Rivers are 
oceanic (flowing into the sea), or continental (flowing into Lakes 
on land). That the Lakes comprise four classes : the first class 
embracing those which receive no running water, and have no 
outlet ; the second, those which have an outlet, and receive no 
running water ; the third, those which receive running water, 
and have no outlet ; the fourth, those which both receive and dis- 
charge streams of water. It appears, also, that the water of 
many Springs and Lakes is salt. 



What is the difference of elevation in Lakes of the third class on the Eastern and 
Western Continents? — What recent discovery is reported in Central Africa? — Describe 
Lakes of the fourth class. — Recapitulate the subjects of this and the preceding chapters. 



32 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE OCEAN. 

I. The Ocean, or Sea, is that great extent of water which 
surrounds the continents and islands of the Earth, and covers 
about three-fourths of its entire surface. 

II. The water of the ocean is salt, and by evaporation a large 
proportion of common salt is obtained from it. Different parts 
of the ocean vary in the amount of salt found in their waters, 
and consequently in density. The ocean is less salt near the 
Equator, and towards the Poles, than in other parts. This is 
probably owing to the abundant rains at the Equator, and to the 
melting of the ice in the Polar regions. 

The saline ingredients render sea-water more buoyant than fresh water, and 
consequently better adapted for navigation, while a larger area is thus pre- 
vented from being ice-bound. Fresh water freezes at the temperature of 
32°; salt water at the temperature of 28J°. The healthfulness of the ocean 
is ascribed to its constant motion, which prevents its waters from becoming 
stagnant and corrupt. 

III. The color of the ocean is generally of a deep bluish-green, 
which becomes clearer and brighter towards the coasts. Par- 
ticular parts of the ocean show peculiar colors. The sea is 
white in the Gulf of Guinea, black amid the Maldive Islands, 
and has a reddish appearance near the peninsula of California. 
Green water, in connection with the deepest blue, appears in 
the Persian Gulf, off the Arabian coast, and in the Arctic Ocean. 
These appearances are permanent, and so distinct, that ships 
have been seen partly in blue and partly in green water at the 
same time. 

These diiferent tints are occasioned by myriads of minute insects which 
swarm in these waters. The phosphorescence of the ocean, which presents 
a magnificent and imposing spectacle, owes its origin to the same cause. 

This beautiful phenomenon is thus described by Mr. Darwin: — "AVhile 
sailing a little south of the La Plata, on one very dark night, the sea pre- 
sented a wonderful and most beautiful spectacle. There was a fresh breeze, 
and every part of the surface, which during the day is seen as foam, now 
glowed with a pale light. The vessel drove before her bow two billows of 
liquid phosphorus, and in her wake she was followed by a milky train. As 
far as the eye reached, the crest of every wave was bright, and the sky above 
the horizon was illuminated from the reflected glare of these lurid flames." 

IV. It is only quite recently that methods have been adopted, 
and apparatus invented, by which the depth of the deeper parts 
of the ojean, " the blue water," could be accurately determined. 
As the result of these recent and correct measurements, Lieut. 
Maui-y reports the Atlantic Ocean, north of 10° South Latitude, 
as varying in depth from 6000 to 25,000 feet. 

The average depth of the Atlantic, for a distance of from 75 to 150 miles 
from the coasts of the Continents, is less than 6000 feet. For a further dis- 
tance of from 200 to 250 miles, the depth varies from 0000 to 12,000 feet. 
" The deepest part of the North Atlantic Ocean," says Lieut. Maury, " is 
probably somewhere between the Bermudas and the Grand Banks, but how 
deep it may be, yet remains for the cannon-ball and sounding-twine to 
determine." 

V. Another result of the recent correct measurements of the 
depth of the North Atlantic, is the certain knowledge that the 



bed of the ocean, like the land, is diversified by mountains and 
valleys, hills, table-lands, and plains. 

" There is," says Lieut. Maury, " at the bottom of this Sea, (the Atlantic 
Ocean,) between Cape Race, in Newfoundland, and Cape Clear, in Ireland, 
a remarkable plain, which is already known as the telegraphic plateau. A 
company is now engaged with the project of a submarine telegraph across 
the Atlantic. It is proposed to carry the wires along this plateau, from the 
eastern shores of Newfoundland to the western shores of Ireland. The great 
circle distance between these two shore lines is 1000 miles, and the sea along 
the route is probably nowhere more than 10,000 feet deep." 

The annexed diagram, copied from Lieut. Maury's Sailing Directions, is 
a representation of the bed of the Atlantic Ocean, in a line extending south- 
eastwardly from Mexico to Africa. It is drawn to a scale, and represents 
the elevation of the land above the level of the sea, as well as the depth to 
which the ocean sinks below it. 



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What is the Ocean 1 — What is the character of the water of the Ocean? — In what 
parts are its waters less salt? — What is the general color of the Ocean? — What is the 
cause of the peculiar colors of some tracts of the Ocean ? — Repeat Darwin's description 
of the pho.ephoresceiice of the Ocean. — What is the depth of the North Atlantic? 



VI. The level of the ocean is not everywhere the same. Thus 
the surface of the Red Sea, at some seasons, is considerably 
higher than that of the Mediterranean : this is supposed to 
be owing to the peculiar shape of this sea, and to the influence 
of the prevailing winds and currents. 

It has been long supposed that there was a considerable difference in the 
levels of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, on opposite sides of the Isthmus 
of Panama ; but recent observations made by Col. Totten, of the Panama 
Railroad, show that there is no appreciable difference in the mean elevations 
of the two oceans. 

VII. Properly speaking, there is but one Ocean ; but for con- 
venience of description it is separated into five divisions — called 
the Arctic, Antarctic, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. 

The Arctic Ocoan is north of the Arctic Circle ; the Antarctic Ocean south 
of the Antarctic Circle. The Atlantic Ocean stretches from the Arctic Circle 
on the north to the Antarctic Circle on the south, and from the western 
shores of the Eastern Continent on the east to the eastern shores of the 
Western Continent on the west. The Pacific Ocean extends from Behring's 
Strait on the north to the Antarctic Circle on the south, and from the 
western shores of the Western Continent on the east to the eastern shores 
of the Eiistern Continent and Australia on the west. The Indian Ocean 
extends from Asia southwards to the Antarctic Circle ; Australia forms its 
eastern, and Africa its western boundary. 

The portions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, north of the Equator, are 
known respectively as the North Atlantic and North Pacific ; those south of 
the Equator, as the South Atlantic and South Pacific. 

The boundaries here assigned to the diSerent oceans are those agreed 
upon by the Royal Geographical Society of London, in 1845. 

By what is the bed of the Ocean diversified? — State the location of the telegraphic 
plateau. — Is there any difference in the level of the Ocean? — Give examples to con- 
firm your statement. — Name the five difl^erent Oceans. — Give the boundaries of each 
of them. — On what authority are these boundaries stated? 



I 



OCEANIC MOVEMENTS. 



33 



VIII. The Arctic and Antarctic Oceans are supposed to be 
of about the same size, though botli have been only partially 
explored. They are chiefly remarkable for the vast fields of ice 
which they contain, and for the huge icebergs which proceed 
from them into the warmer waters towards the Ef^uator. 

Many navigators have attempted to press through the ice of these oceans 
to the Poles, but thus far without success. Captain Parry, in 1827, reached 
Latitude 82° 45' North ; and Sir James Ross, in 1841, reached Latitude 
TS° 10' South: being the two nearest points to the Poles yet attained 
by man. 

Dr. Kane, the intrepid American explorer, in his recent Arctic expedition, 
abandoned his vessels, which were frozen fast in the ice, and proceeded 
northwards, on sledges drawn by dogs, as far as 82° 30' North, where he 
discovered a great open sea stretching in the distance as far as the eye 
could reach. 

IX. The Atlantic Ocean, though only about one-third the extent 
of the Pacific, is of far more importance to man. It is the 
principal highway of the larger portion of the world's commerce, 
and its great branches, penetrating far into the land, afford 
immense facilities for navigation to the countries whose waters 
they drain. 

The most important eastern branches of the Atlantic are the Mediterra- 
nean and Baltic Seas ; the principal western branches are the Caribbean 
Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and Hudson's Bay. 

X. The Pacific Ocean is remarkable for its vast size, and for 
the great number of its islands. It was not known to Europeans 
until 1513, when it was discovered by Vasco Nunez de Balboa, 
from the summit of a mountain near the Isthmus of Panama. 
Magellan, who sailed on it from America to the Ladrone Islands, 
gave it the name of Pacific, in consequence of the calm and de- 
lightful weather which he experienced while navigating its surface. 

On the American side, the Pacitic corresponds to the South Atlantic, rarely 
extending its branches into the land. On the Asiatic side, it corresponds 
to the North Atlantic, in deeply indenting the coasts. The China, YelloWj 
and Japan Seas, enclosed by islands, are strikingly similar to the Caribbean 
Sea and Gulf of Mexico, shut in by the West Indies. 

XI. The Indian Ocean has for its princijsal branches the Bay 
of Bengal, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabian and Red Seas. 
This ocean is chiefly remarkable for its hurricanes and monsoons, 
for an account of which, see Meteorology, i)age 4-3. 



CHAPTER V. 

OCEANIC MOVEMENTS, WAVES, TIDES, AND 
CURRENTS. 

I. The Ocean is subject to the three great general movements 
of Waves, Tides, and Currents : the causes of which are inde- 
pendent of each other. The wave movement is of an inconstant 
and transitory character, occasioned principally by winds. The 
movement of the tides is regular and periodical, and caused by 
the attractive influence of the moon, modified by that of the sun. 
The currents are the effects of various circumstances, and, in their 
constant flow, are like great rivers in the midst of the sea. 

For what are the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans remarkable? — What are the nearest 
distances to the Poles yet attained by man? — "What discovery was made in this Ocean 
by Dr. Kane? — State some points of resemblance between the .\tlantic and Pacific. 
5 



Wave.«. 

II. Waves appear to be an onward flow of the water of the sur- 
face of the ocean ; but they arc not really so, except in shoal water, 
and in the case of a strong continuous wind, which sometimes 
creates a current. If the formation of a single wave be carefully 
observed, it will be seen that while the forward part of it is rising, 
the hinder part is falling. 

The common saying of "the tvaves ruiiniinj mountain liiyh" is a popular 
exaggeration. The highest wave observed in the Atlantic by Dr. Scoresby, 
during two voyages made across it in 1847 and 1848, was 43 feet, and this 
observation immediately followed a very severe gale. The highest wave 
noticed in the Mediterranean Sea was 10 feet ; off Austr.alia, 20 feet ; and in 
the Bay of Biscay, as measured by Sir .James Boss, 30 feet. At a compara- 
tively bmall depth the ocean is tranquil, while furious tempests are agitating 
its surface. The effect of the strongest gales does not probably extendi 
beyond the depth of 200 feet. 

III. The force of the waves in gales of wind is tremendous. 
The great storm of the 17th of April, 1851, carried away 
Minot's Ledge Light-house, on the coast of Massachusetts, 
twenty miles from Boston. 




■^ 




„4;mb1 



nit 



,,;,Si|Bfr 





Minot's Ledge Liglit-Housc. 

This famous structure was composed of nine iron piles, from CO to 03 feet 
in height, each of which was ten inches in diameter, and firmly imbedded 
five feet deep in the solid part of the rock on which it was situated. These 
piles were strongly braced together, but in the fury of the gale were twisted 
oir as if they had been made of wood. After the gale had subsided, a huge 
block of granite, estimated to weigh seven tons, to which the keeper had 
attached a hawser extending from the structure, was found to have been 
washed 400 or 500 feet towards the shore. 

IV. The rate at which waves travel, is strikingly exhibited 
by the following circumstances narrated by Prof. Bache : 

" On the 23d of December, 1854, an earthquake occurred at Simoda, on 
the island of Niphon, Japan. The harbor was first emptied of water, then 

For what is the Indian Ocean remarkable ?— To what three general movements is the 
Ocean subject ? — Describe each of them. — What are Waves? — How high are they?— 
Give an example to illustrate their force. 



34 



PHYSICAL GEOGEAPHY. 



an enormous ^Yave rushed in, which again receded, leaving the harbor dry. 
This was repeated several times, and thus several great waves were formed. 
At San Francisco, there are self-acting tide-gauges, which indicate any dis- 
turbance in the level of the sea ; and these gaitges, four thousand eight 
hundred miles from the scene of the earthquake, marked the time at which 
the waves arrived. The first one travelled across the Pacific in twelve hours 
and sixteen minutes, or at the rate of nearly four hundred miles an hour. 
The others followed at intervals of about an hour each." 



Tides. 

V. Tides are alternate risings and fallings of the water of the 
surface of the ocean, which occur regulai'ly twice in every day. 

On all coasts of the ocean where tides are felt, the water is in restless 
motion at all times, even when there is not a breath of wind. It is only on 
the coasts of inland seas, gulfs, and bays, which penetrate far into the land, 
as the Baltic and Black Seas, that tides are not experienced. 

If a convenient place be chosen for observation, as a gradually sloping 
sea-beach, we shall notice for about sis hours a continued rise of the water 
up the beach, each wave advancing higher and higher: this rise is called 
the Jiood tide. For about ten or fifteen minutes the water will be at rest : 
this is termed Mgli water. The water then recedes for about sis hours as 
gradually as it rose : this is called ebh tide. Here it remains at rest for about 
ten or fifteen minutes, which is called low xoater; and then commences to 
rise again, and so on alternately. 

The perpendicular height to which the tide rises maybe very plainly seen 
upon the surface of a rock on the beach, or upon a stake fised in the sand. 

VI. Tides do not rise to the same height on all coasts. In 
the open ocean the rise is small. Thus, at the Sandwich Islands, 
it is only about two and a half feet ; and at St. Helena, about 
three feet. On coasts, however, where the tides are interrupted, 
or forced around a headland, or up a narrow bay, they some- 
times reach an amazing height. 

At St. Malo, on the northern coast of France, the highest tides rise forty 
or fifty feet ; and, in the Bay of Fundy, they are often sixty or seventy feet 
in height, advancing with such rapidity that swine, feeding on the shell-fish 
upon the beach, are sometimes overtaken by the flood, and drowned. The 
highest tides of the principal ports of the Atlantic coast of the United States, 
vary from three to twelve or fifteen feet. 

VII. The height to which the tide rises at any given place is 
not always the same. It changes every day, and these changes 
are connected with the phases of the moon. At the times of 
the new moon, and of the full moon, the flood rises higher, and 
the fall of the ebh is greater than at other times : these are 
called Spring tides. During the first and last quarters of the 
moon, the ebb and flow are least : called Neap tides. The dif- 
ference between Neap and Spring tides, at Boston, is about five 
feet ; at New York, two feet ; and at Brest, on the coast of 
France, about eleven feet. 

VIII. The connection between the tides and the place of 
the moon and sun was known to the ancients, but Newton 
first demonstrated the influence of these bodies in producing 
them. To understand this influence, some knowledge of the laws 
of attraction is necessary. Attraction is that power which draws 
bodies towards each other. The moon and sun attract the earth ; 
the moon, by reason of its lesser distance, is estimated to exer- 
cise about three times the power of the sun. Neither the 



Give an example to illustrate the speed witli which "Waves travel. — W^hat are Tides? 
— Describe the tidal movement as it would be observed on a sea-beach. — State the 
height to which the Tide rises on different coasts. — Explain the terms Sjiviiig (idea 
and Neap tides. — What causes Tides ? 



attractive influence of the moon, however, nor of the sun and 
moon combined, is strong enough to disturb the solid matter of 
the land of the earth ; but either is sufficiently powerful to raise 
the more easily lifted particles of the sea. 

To explain clearly the influence of the moon and sun in producing tides, 
let us suppose the earth to be a globe entirely covered with water, and let 
it le represented in the annexed diagram by E, then M will represent the 
moon, S the sun, and a b c d the water covering the earth. 



Fig;l 





m-xsm- 



This figure represents the moon and sun as attracting the earth in the 
same direction. Their influence is, of course, the strongest on that portion 
of the earth which is nearest to them, and the water is accordingly elevated 
at a, drawn thither from b and c. The water is also raised at d, and this is 
caused by the entire solid matter of the earth being drawn from the water 
at d, thus producing the same effects as if it had been raised by the direct 
action of the moon and sun. Figure I represents Spring tides and hio-h 
water at a and d, and low water at b and c. 



Fi!!?.2 





Figure 2 represents the moon and sun as attracting the earth in different 
directions ; the moon's influence being greatest, it is high water and Neap 
tides at b and o, and low water at a and d. 

The greatest rise of the water does not happen at the moment when 
the moon is directly over it, but occurs a little later; some "time being 
required for the water to run up and form a wave. 

IX. The earth, however, is not a sphere entirely covered with 
water, and the peculiar conformation of the land causes a very 
difierent tidal movement from that in the case supposed. It has 
been ascertained that the only part of the sea, of sufiicient extent 
and depth to admit of the formation of a tidal wave, is the great 
ocean south of Australia. When, therefore, by the revolution 
of the earth upon its axis, this part of the ocean is brought 
nearest to the moon, a great tidal wave is created. 

The numerous islands and coral reefs of the Pacific, and the peculiar 
canal-shape of the Atlantic, prevent the origination of tides in either of 
these great oceans. So, also, the small extent of inland lakes and seas pre- 
vents all tidal movements in such bodies of water. 

Which has the greatest influeuee in producing Tides, the sun or moon ? — Explain 
figure 1. — Explain figure 2. — In what part of the ocean do Tides originate? — What 
prevents their formation in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans? — In inland lakes and 
seas ? 



OCEANIC MOVEMENTS. 



35 




X. The tidal wave wliich first receives its impulse south of 
Australia, follows the apparent westward course of the moon, 
entering from the south the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, bearing 
high water to all the coasts it visits. Like other waves, it is not 
an onward flow of the water, except over shoals, and near the 
land. In the deep and open ocean its velocity is a thousand 
miles an hour, but near the laud its movement is much less 
rapid. 

The progress of a tidal wave is represented by lines on the map at the 
tnp of the page, called co-tidal, because they connect places which have 
high water at the same time. If we suppose it to be high water on the east 
coast of Tasmania at 11 o'clock, A. M. — at 11, at night, the wave will have 
reached the southern, point of the peninsula of Ilindoostan ; at 1 o'clock, 
next morning, it will have passed the Cape of Good Hope : and advancing 
rapidly in the deep waters of the Atlantic, it will reach Newfoundland at 
11 o'clock, A.M., or in '21 hours from the time it started from Tasmania. 

The spaces between the co-tidal lines, proceeding from east to west, indi- 
cate the progress the tidal wave makes in two hours. 

Currents. 

XL The currents of the ocean are among the most important 
of its movements. They are like vast rivers in the midst of the 
sea — transferring its waters from the Poles to the Eipator, and 
from one ocean to another. 

XII. Currents are caused by the heat of the sun, the rotation 
of the earth, the saltness of the sea, by winds, tides, the melting 
of ice, and by various minor circumstances. They are constant, 
periodical, or temporary. 

XIII. Constant currents are those great ocean streams which 
have their origin in permanent causes, and flow in one direction 
throughout the year. 

In what direction does the tidal wave flow ? — Wliat do you understand by co-tidal 
lines? — How long does it t.ake tlie tidal wave to flow from St. Helena to the Cape de 
Vcrd Islands? — Is it hi^'h water first at the Cape dcVerd Islands or the West Indies? 



XIV. The nature of these causes is yet imperfectly under- 
stood. The following theory seems to be the one most generally 
adopted : — 

The heat of the Torrid Zone occasions a more powerful evaporation at 
the Equator than is experienced anywhere else : immense quantities of 
water are constantly rising from the surface, in the form of moisture, and 
are borne away by the winds. Therefore, to supply the vacancy at the 
Equator, caused by this circumstance, the heavier, because colder, waters 
of the Poles move towards the Equator. 

The rotation of tho earth promotes the movement of the Polar water 
towards the Equator, in the following manner : — The waters of the ocean 
are impelled towards that part of the earth's surface which revolves with the 
greatest rapidity; and as the rotary motion of the earth is more rapid at the 
Equator than anywhere else, the waters of the Polar regions thus receive an 
impulse towards the Equator, in addition to that caused by the heat of the 
Torrid Zone. The combined action of these two forces causes large streams 
to descend from both Poles towards the Equator. 

When the water leaves the region of the Poles, where the rotary motion 
is slight, it flows directly north and south ; but as it advances towards the 
Equator, where the surface of the earth revolves with great rapidity, it can- 
not at once acquire the same velocity — consequently it is left behind ; and 
instead of running north and south, as it would do if the earth's surfiiee did 
not turn round, it flows in an oblique direction towards the west, until finally 
it forms a great equatorial current setting towards the west : while the trade- 
winds, which blow in a general westerly direction, combine to increase its 
velocity. 

Were it not for the land, such would be the uniform and constant flow of 
the waters of the ocean. The presence of the land interrupts tho regularity 
of this great westward movement of the waters, sending them to the north 
or south, and also occasioning temporary and periodical currents. 

XV. Periodical currents are occasioned by tides, and by peri- 
odical winds, called monsoons. (See article MoNSOONS, p. 4-3.) 
These currents are freijuent in the eastern seas : one flows into 
the Red Sea during six months in the year, and out of it during 
the remaining six. In the Persian Gulf, this order is reversed. 

What are the Currents of the ocean like? — By what are they caused ? — What are 
Constant Currents ? — E.\plain the generally-adopted theory of the cause of Currcllt^ ? — 
By what are the Periodical Currents occasioned ? 



36 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



In the Indian Ocean and China Sea, the waters are driven alter- 
nately backwards and forwards by the monsoons. 

XVI. Temporary currents are caused by tides, melting ice, and 
by gales of considerable duration. 

There are strong local currents produced by tides, flowing through narrow 
channels and projecting coasts: as "Ilurlgate," in East River, seven miles 
from New York, where the water has a velocit}' of six miles an hour; and the 
" Roost" of Sumburgh, at the south promontory of the Shetland Isles, which 
runs at the rate of fifteen miles an hour. These local currents sometimes 
meet from opposite quarters, and cause a whirlpool, like the long-celebrated 
Maelstrom on the coast of Norway, occasioned by the meeting of tidal cur- 
rents round the adjacent island; 

XVII. Let us trace the course of the great system of constant 
currents, through the various deviations occasioned by the out- 
lines of the land. This system has different names in the various 
parts of its course : — 

1. Antarctic Current. — In consequence of the natural tendency of the 
Polar water towards the Equator, a great oceanic stream flows northward 
from the Antarctic Sea. Driven by the westerly winds which prevail in 
that quarter, it bends towards the western coast of South America. Here 
it is divided : a small part rounding Cape Horn, while the greater body flows 
north along the coast of South America, until turning suddenly to the west, 
it is lost in the Equatorial current of the Pacific. 

2. Equatorial Current of the Pacific. — This great stream flows westward, 
with a breadth of 3500 miles, until its progress is interrupted by the shores 
of China, Farther India, and the islands of the Indian Archipelago ; bat 
a part forces its way between the islands, and joins the equatorial current 
of the Indian Ocean. Passing round the northern end of M.adagascar, it 
flows through Mozambique Channel, and around the Cape of Good Hope. 
It then moves northward along the western shores of Africa, until it is 
turned aside by the coast of Guinea, and forms the Equatorial current of 
the Atlantic. 

3. Equatorial Current of the Atlantic. — ^^Moving westward, this stream 
reaches Cape St. Roque, in Brazil. Here it divides into two branches. 
Ore branch, setting southward along the coast of South America, is turned 
towards the east before reaching the mouth of the La Plata, and assumes 
tlie name of the Southern Connecting Current. 

4. Southern Connecting Current. — This stream stretches directly across 
the Atlantic to the Cape of Good Hope, and passing 200 miles south of the 
westward Cape Current, pursues its course into the Indian Ocean. 

5. Guiana and Carihbean Current. — The principal branch of the Equa- 
torial current of the Atlantic takes a north-westerly direction, from off Cape 
St. Roque ; and rushes along the coast of Brazil, with such rapidity and 
depth, that its course is but little affected by the powerful streams of the 
Amazon and Orinoco. After passing through the Caribbean Sea, and 
sweeping around the Gulf of Mexico, it flows between Florida and Cuba, 
assuming the name of the Gulf Stream. 

6. Gulf Stream. — This powerful stream passes north-easterly along the 
coast of North America to Newfoundland, where it turns to the east, and 
reaches the Azores ; there it takes a southerly direction, and is gradually 
lost in the Atlantic Ocean. An important branch leaves the Gulf Stream, 
near Newfoundland, setting towards Great Britain. It is divided by the 
British Isles — part of it flowing towards the western shores of France, and 
another branch to the coasts of Norwiiy, where its waters can be readily 
distinguished by their warmth. The waters of the Gulf Stream are warmer, 
more salt, and of a deeper blue than those through which it passes. Be- 
tween Florida and Cuba it flows with great velocity, and has a high tem- 
perature. As it proceeds north, its breadth becomes greater, while its depth 
and speed diminish ; and although losing much of its heat as it proceeds 
north, it still retains throughout its entire course a higher temperature than 
that of the surrounding ocean. 



By what are Temporary Currents caused? — Give examples of such Currents. — De- 
scribe the Antarctic Current. — The Equatorial Current of the Pacific. Of the Atlantic. 

— In what direction does the Southern Connecting Current flow? Along what coasts 

docs the Guiana and Caribbean Current flow? — Where is the Gulf .Stream? 



7. North African and Guinea Current. — Commencing off the coasts of 
Ireland and Spain, this current, after sending a stream through the Straits 
of Gibraltar, moves down the coast of Africa, alongside of the Equatorial 
current, with which perhaps its waters finally mingle. This current, in con- 
nection with the Gulf Stream, completes the entire circuit of the Northern 
Atlantic Ocean. 

8. Grassy Sea. — "Midway the Atlantic, in the triangular space between 
the Azores, Canaries, and Cape de Verd Islands, is the Sargasso Sea. 
Covering an area equal in extent to the Mississippi Valley, it is so thickly 
matted over with Gulf weed that the speed of vessels passing through it is 
often much retarded. When the companions of Columbus saw it, they 
thought it marked the limits of navigation, and became alarmed. To the 
eye, at a little distance, it seems substantial enough to walk upon. Patches 
of the weed are always to be seen floating along the Gulf Stream. Now, if 
bits of cork or chaff', or any floating substance, be put into a basin, and a 
circular motion be given to the water, all the light substances will be found 
crowding together near the centre of the pool, where there is the least 
motion. Just such a basin is the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf Stream, and 
the Sargasso Sea is the centre of the whirl. Columbus first found this 
weedy sea in his voyage of discovery; there it has remained to this d.ay; 
and certain observations as to its limits, extending back for fifty years, 
assure us that its position has not been altered since that time." — Matiry's 
Physical Geography of the Sea. 

9. Arctic Current. — This stream originates in the masses of ice which 
surround the North Pole. Passing down the coasts of Greenland and 
Labrador, it reaches the Gulf Stream on the coast of Newfoundland. Here 
it divides : one portion flowing south to the Caribbean Sea, which it enters 
as an under-current; while the other flows down the coast of the United States, 
inside of the Gulf Stream. 

10. Japan Curi-eni. — This is a current which has been lately investigated, 
entering the Pacific from the Indian Ocean, bearing many striking points 
of resemblance to the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic. Lieut. Bent, who was 
attached to Commodore Perry's late Japanese expedition, reports this cur- 
rent as being well known to the Japanese, who called it the Eu7-o siwo, or 
black stream ; the name being undoubtedly given to it on account of its dark 
blue color, as compared with the adjacent ocean. This current pours a stream 
of warm water through the China Sea, between Borneo and Anam, which 
corresponds to that between Florida and Cuba ; it flows north-easterly along 
the coast of Asia, as the Gulf Stream follows the line of the American coast; 
and it imparia a warmth and moisture to the Aleutian Islands and the north- 
western coasts of America, similar to the efl^ect produced by the Gulf Stream 
upon the western and northern shores of Europe. Moreover, there is a cold 
current flowing southward down the coast of Asia, inside of this northward 
current, corresponding to the southward current of our eastern coast. To 
complete the resemblance, there is a southward current along the coast of 
California and Mexico, corresponding to the continuation of the Gulf Stream 
by the North African and Guinea current ; and masses of floating sea-weed 
occur in the Pacific, not unlike the Sargasso Sea of the Atlantic. 

XVIII. Counter Currents. — A countei'-current is a stream 
which runs by the side of, or beneath, another current, and in an 
opposite direction to it. 

There is scarcely a strait joining two seas that does not furnish an exam- 
ple — a current running in along one shore, and a counter-current running 
out along the other; or a surface-current running in one direction, and au 
under-current in another. 

Lieut. Maury remarks : "We may lay it down as a law in the system of 
oceanic circulation, that every current in the sea has its counter-current ; 
* * * for wherever one current is found cai'rying off water from this or 
that part of the sea, to the same part must some other current convey an 
equal volume of water, or else the first would, in the course of time, cease for 
the want of water to supply it." 

Thus the North African and Guinea current runs- for a thousand miles 
along the northern margin of the Equatorial current of the Atlantic, and in 

Along what coasts flows the North African and Guinea Current? — Describe the Sar- 
gasso Sea. — The Arctic Current. — State some points of resemblance between the .Japan 
Current and the Gulf Stream. — What are Counter Currents? — Give examples of 
them. 



OCEANIC MOVEMENTS. 



37 








View in the Arctic Ocean. 



an opposite direction to it. Tin' suutlicrn connecting current forms a 
counter-current to the stream which flows westward around the Cape of 
Good Hope. The ITnlted States current, wliich flows soutliward inside the 
Gulf Stream, is another example. 

XIX. Under Currents. — Many of the counter-currents flow 
beneath the surface with immense force and velocity. 

Navigators report that there is a powerful under-current flowing from the 
Atlantic into the Arctic Ocean. "They describe," says Maury, " huge ice- 
bergs, with tops high up 
^^ in the air, and, of course, 

.,^g^ i^^^i^ the bases of which e.ttend 

far down into the depths 
^ _js^ of tlie ocean, ripping and 

tearing their way, with 
terrific force and awful 
violence, through the sur- 
face-ice or against a sur- 
face-current, on their way 
into the Polar basin." 

The existence of an 
open sea at the l-oles, 
north of the dreary wastes 
of ice in the Arctic Ocean, 
had for some time been 
supposed by hydrogra- 
phers. Its existence was 
also inferred from the 
well-known fact, that the 
birds and animals of the Arctic regions are found at certain seasons 
migrating to the north, evidently in search of a milder climate. This infer- 
ence has recently been confirmed by the explorations of Dr. Kane, who 
actually reached the margin of it in Latitude 82° 30', north of Greenland. 

Lieutenant Maury attributes the cause of this open sea, which is supposed 
to be free from ice, chiefly to the under-current of water flowing to the north, 
which he has so graphically described. He supposes this current to come 
from the warmer regions of the Equator, and to rise to the surface near the 
Poles, communicating its warmth to the waters of those regions. 

XX. The extent, temperature, and velocity of currents have an 
important influence upon climate and navigation. 

Their velocity varies at different points of their course. The average 
velocity of some of the great currents is 60 miles a day — while at some 
points it is 120 miles. Near Cape Corrientes, on the African coast, west of 
Madagascar, a velocity of 139 miles a day has been observed. It is, there- 
fore, obvious that a knowledge of the ocean currents is of the utmost import- 
ance in navigation. 

Lieutenant Maury states that very recently a fine frigate took a hundred 
days to sail from the United States to Rio Janeiro, while another vessel, 
which left at the same time, performed the same voyage, by the aid of the 
thart of the currents, in thirty days. In the waters near the Equator, where 
long calms prevail, a vessel may be carried hundreds of miles by the force 
of the current alone. 

Where a powerful current flows through a labyrinth of islands, navigation 
is often rendered very difficult and dangerous: this is the case in the China 
Seas and Indian Archipelago. In the West Indies, a vessel going from 
•Jamaica to the Lesser Antilles is prevented, by baffling winds and currents, 
from sailing directly across the Caribbean Sea, and must go round through 
the ocean, outside of the Caribbee Isles — a voyage requiring several weeks ; 
while the return passage, directly across the Caribbean Sea, is made in as 
many days. 

Vegetable matter and the seeds of plants are transported by currents from 
one region to another. Coral islands thus become clothed with vegetation, 
and are fitted for the habitation of man. Vast quantities of timber are 

Repeat Maury's description of tlie cfTects of the under-current which flows into the 
Arctic Ocean. — To what docs he attribute the cause of the open Polar Sea? — Give 
examples to illustrate the velocity of Currents. — Hive examples to illustrate their 
influence upon navigation. — State some other important offices performed by Currents. 



thrown upon the islands in the Polar .Sea. The bodies of men, animals, and 
plants of unknown appearance, brought to the Azores ))y the Gulf Stream, 
suggested to Columbus the idea of land beyond the Western Ocean, and thus 
led to the discovery of America. 

XXI. Ocean currents carry on a constant exchange between 
the waters of the Poles and those of the Equator, and thus dimi- 
nish the extremes of heat and cold in every Zone. The temper- 
ature of the currents is either higlier or lower than that of the 
surrounding ocean, according to the heat of the climate in which 
they have their origin. This difi'erence amounts to from 10° to 
30° Fahrenheit. 

The Antarctic current pours a cold stream along the western coast of 
South America, producing an important effect upon the climate of Chili. \i 
renders the temperature of the Equatorial current three degrees colder than 
that of the adjacent waters. The waters of the Equatorial current again 
become heated in the Gulf of Mexico, and under the name of the Gulf Stream, 
flow forth into the Atlantic, ten degrees warmer than the surrounding ocean. 

The Gulf Stream, pouring out a vast flood of warm water over the surface 
of the Atlantic, makes the climate of northern Europe mild and moist ; while 
the shores of Labrador, in the same latitude, washed by the cold waters of 
the Arctic, are encased in ice. 

The waters of the Gulf Stream preserve, even in winter, the heat of 
summer. The difference between their temperature and that of the sur- 
rounding waters is greatest in winter, being twenty and even thirty degrees 
at the Banks of Newfoundland, and off Cape Hatteras. 

" The presence of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, with their summer 
heat in midwinter, off the shores of New England, is a great boon to navi- 
gation. No part of the world affords a more difficult and dangerous navi- 
gation than the approaches of our northern coast in winter. In makino- 
this part of the coast, vessels are frequently met by gales which mock the 
seaman's strength, and set at nought his skill. In a little while his bark 
becomes a mass of ice, with her crew frosted and helpless ; she remains obe- 
dient only to her helm, and is put away for the Gulf Stream. After a few 
hours' run she reaches its edge, and almost at the next bound passes from 
the midst of winter into a sea at summer heat. Now the ice disappears 
from her apparel ; the sailor bathes his stiffened limbs in tepid waters ; feel- 
ing himself invigor.ated and refreshed by the genial warmth about him, he 
is ready for a fresh endeavor." — Lieut. Maury's Physical Geoympliy of the 
Sea. 

So the ice-bound ships in the Northern Pacific seek refuge in the warmer 
waters of the Japan Current, when beaten back from the inhospitable ports 
of Kamtschatka. 

On the other hand, the Arctic currents bear their cold waters to the coasts 
of the United States and to the shores of the Caribbean Sea, modifying the 
intense heat, and counteracting the numerous causes of pestilence. Thus, 
the great currents of the ocean play their. part in renewing and invigorating 
the life of the globe. 

XXII. Recapitulation. — It has thus been shown that the 
ocean is that great body of salt water, which covers about three- 
fourths of the earth's surface ; and that it is subject to the three 
great movements of AVaves, Tides, and Currents. It appears 
that the wave movement, and that of some currents, are incon- 
stant, dependent upon local circumstances ; while the flow of the 
tides, and of most currents, is constant, depending upon perma- 
nent causes. It appears, also, that the movements of the oceanic 
waters are of vast importance to man — promoting navigation, 
moderating the severity of extreme climates, transporting seeds, 
and in various other ways contributing to his happiness and 
enjoyment. 

What effects have Currents upon the temperature of difl^erent countries? — Illustrate 
your statement by examples. — Repeat Maury's description of the approach to the coast 
of New England in winter. — What Current in the Pacific resembles the Gulf Stream in 
the warmth of its waters ? — Recapitulate the subjects of this and the preceding chapter. 




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PART III. 



METEOROLOGY. 






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Meteorology (from the Greek, "a ?o/i'?/ discoxirse") is that department of Physical Geography which treats of the phenomena 
of the Atmosphere, especially in its relations to heat and moisture. 

The subject ^^■ill be considered under the general divisions of, 1. The Atmosphere. 2. Temperature. 3. The Winds. 
4. Jloisture of the Atmosphei-e — Dew, Fogs, Rain, Snow, and Hail. 5. Climate. 6. Electrical and Optical Phenomena. 



CHAPTER I. 
THE ATMOSPHERE. 

I. The Atmosphere is that fluid which we breathe, and which 
entirely surrounds the earth. 

The atmosphere was formerly supposed to be a simple element, but the 
investigations of modern chemists have shown it to be composed almost en- 
tirely of dry air and the vapor of water. Dry air is formed of two simple 
substances or gases — oxygen and nitrogen — in the proportion of 20 or 21 
]«arts of the former, to 79 or 80 parts of the latter. The amount of the vapor 
uf water in the atmosphere fluctuates : in the dryest weather it is supposed 
to be at least one per cent. 

II. The atmosphere has weight, is very elastic, and naturally 
colorless. 

Of what does Meteorology treat? — Under what general divisions may the subject be 
considered? — ^\'lint is the Atmosphere ? — Of what is it composed? 



The fixct that the atmosphere has weight, was not verified until the com- 
mencement of the seventeenth century, though it had been surmised much 
earlier. It is now known that it exerts a pressure, or has a weifiht, of about 
fifteen pounds on every square inch of the earth's surface ; which is equal 
to the weight of a column of mercury, one inch square, and 30 inches high — 
or a column of water, one inch square, and 34 feet in height. 

The pressure of the atmosphere was noticed by Galileo, but demonstrated 
by his pupil Torrecelli, who invented the barometer, a simple instrument, 
consisting of a column of mercury, balanced or pressed upwards into vacuum 
by the weight of the atmosphere. The mercury in this instrument regularly 
falls as we ascend above the level of the sea, thus showing a decrease in the 
atmospheric pressure or weight. The amount of its fall indicates the eleva- 
tion to which we have ascended, thus rendering it easy to determine the 
height of mountains. The mercury in the barometer is usually high in 
calm and fair weather— it falls when it is wet and stormy; hence the value 
of this instrument as a weather-glass. 



What properties has the Atmosphere? — What is the amount of its pressure ?- 
invented the Barometer? — Of what practical use is this instrument? 

(39) 



-Who 



40 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



III. The atmosphere is in a high degree elastic, possessing 
the property of occupying less space under the influence of great 
pressure, and returning to its original volume when the pressure 
is withdrawn. Its density is not uniform, but diminishes from 
below upwards, because the lower portions receive the pressure 
of the air above. 

IV. The height of the atmosphere is not known, but it is sup- 
posed to extend upwards, about 50 miles. Yet by far the greater 
portion is within 15 or 20 miles of the earth's surface ; and at a 
much less distance it becomes so rarefied as to be incapable of 
supporting life. 

In ascending high mountains, the rarity of the air sensibly diminishes the 
intensity of sound, renders respiration diiEoult, and causes a great loss of 
physical strength. Humboldt, who ascended Mt. Chimborazo to the height 
of more than 19,000 feet, describes the blood as bursting from his nose and 
ears ; and Captain Gerard, who ascended the Himalaya to a height even 
greater than that reached by Humboldt, speaks of the great physical debility 
and mental dejection there experienced on the least motion. 



CHAPTER II. 

TEMPERATURE. 

I. Temperature is the quantity of sensible heat which a body 
possesses, as indicated by a thermometer. 

The thermometer is a very simple instrument, constructed on the principle 
that bodies expand with heat, and contract with cold. It consists of a small 
gkss tube, with a bulb at the bottom, attached to a graduated scale. The 
bulb is filled with mercury, which, on being exposed to the action of heat, 
expands and rises in the tube, forcing out the air which filled it ; the top of 
the tube is then sealed up, and the instrument is ready for use. Let the 
bulb be immersed in melting ice, and the height of the mercury marked on 
the graduated scale will denote the freezing point of water; and if the bulb 
be inserted in boiling water, the height to which the mercury rises will indi- 
cate the boiling point of water. Above, below, and between these points, 
the graduated scale is marked oif in degrees indicating the different temper- 
ature to which the mercury is exposed. 

There are three kinds of thermometers in common use in various parts 
of the world: Fahrenheit's, Reaumur's, and the Centigrade. Fahrenheit's, 
that most generally used in the United States and England, and the standard 
adopted in this work, fixes the freezing point of water at 32°, and the boiling 
point at 212°. Reaumur's, in most common use in Germany, fixes the two 
points respectively at 0° and 80°; and the Centigrade, the standard in France, 
and in many scientific works, fixes them at 0° and 100°. 

One degree of Centigrade is equal to 1'8° Fahrenheit ; and one degree of 
Reaumur is equal to 2}° Fahrenheit. Thus, if you wish to change the tem- 
perature from Centigrade to Fahrenheit, multiply the degrees given by I'S, 
taking care to add 32°, the difference in the freezing points. In the same 
manner, if you wish to change from Reaumur, multiply by 2 J, and add 32°. 

Thus, 20° Reaumur is equal to 77° Fahrenheit, as follows: — 

20 X 2} = 45 -f 32 = 77. 
And 20° Centigrade is equal to 68° Fahrenheit, thus: — 

20 X 1-8 = 36 + 32 = 68. 

What is understood by the elasticity of the atmosphere? — To what height is it sup- 
posed the atmosphere extends? — State some of the effects produced by its rarity at a 
high elevation. — What is Temperature ? — E.xplain the construction of the thermometer. 
— State the difference between the three in most common use. 



II. The temperature of the solid body of the earth varies ac- 
cording to its depth. Neither the heat of the sun nor the effects 
of cold are experienced beyond a moderate depth ; and at a dis- 
tance rarely exceeding 50 or 60 feet, a limit is reached at which 
the temperature is invariable from year to year. 

In the Torrid Zone, under the Equ.ator, this limit is not more than one 
foot from the surface ; and in temperate climates, it is reached at the dis- 
tance of about 60 or 65 feet. In the Polar regions the ground is perpetually 
frozen, in some cases to the depth of 300 or 400 feet. 

III. Below the line of invariable temperature, the mercury 
rises one degree for every 54 feet of descent. At this rate of 
increase, water would boil at the depth of two miles, and iron 
would melt at the depth of twenty-four miles. 

The temperature of the globe, as a whole, has undergone no sensible 
change for thousands of years. The earth throws off into the air all the heat 
that it receives from the sun ; while M. Arago has demonstrated that the 
effects of the internal heat have not affected its mean temperature one-tenth 
of a degree for 2000 years. 

IV. The temperature of the ocean varies, according to the 
depth and the latitude. This variation is not uniform, being 
greatly modified by various local circumstances, such as the pre- 
vailing currents and the melting of the Polar ice. 

At a certain depth, vai-ying with the latitude, a limit of water in the deep 
sea is reached which has an invariable temperature of about 39°"5. At 
the Equator this temperature is found at the depth of 7200 feet. From the 
Equator toward* the Poles it rises, until at about Latitude 56°, it reaches 
the surface, where the temperature of the water is 39°'5 ; from this parallel 
it sinks again, and at Latitude 70° it is found at a depth of 4500 feet. 















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;-;^A."'^'"-r-'^ 










i'iagram representing the Oceanic Limit of Invariable Temperature. 



The greater parts of the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans, during eight months 
in the year, are covered with ice. In summer, their waters, though open, 
are by no means clear, but exhibit immense icy m.asses, floating to and fro, 
and often drifted by winds and currents far into the heart of the Atlantic, 
where they are dissolved in its warmer waters. 

These floating masses ore of two kinds : sheet ice and icebergs. The 
latter, which are of fresh water formation, will be considered in connection 
with glaciers. 

Sheet ice resembles that of lakes and rivers, presenting a generally level 
surface. Sheets of ice, when of great extent, are called ice-fields, and some- 
times have an area of 100 square miles, rising from two to eight feet out of 
the water. Smaller sheets are called floes. Fields and floes, when broken 
up, and the fragments crowded together, form what is called a fack. 

The temperature of the surface of the ocean is more uniform than that 
of the land. The rays of the sun penetrate to a greater depth in water than 
in the ground. A much greater mass, therefore, is warmed, yet it is very 
slowly warmed and cooled ; so that it does not undergo any very rapid or 
violent changes. While the surface of the ground, on the contrary, being 
affected to only a moderate depth, receives and throws off the heat of the 
sun's rays with great rapidity. The greatest variation in the temperature of 
the open sea throughout the year, at any given place, is only 10 or 12 degrees, 
while that of the land is sometimes 160 degrees. Accordingly, the sea is 

At what depth from the surface of the solid body of the earth is found the line of 
invariable temperature? — Does it become warmer or colder below this line? — State the 
depths from the surface of the ocean at which it is found. — E.'iplain the terms ice- fields, 
fioes, and packs, — How does the temperature of the ocean compare with that of the land? 



TEMPERATURE. 



41 



cooler tlian the land in summer, and warmer in winter; it is also cooler 
than the land during the day, and warmer at night. Its temperature, like 
that of the land, is not affected by the internal heat 6f the earth. 

The Oceanic warmth Equator, or line of greatest heat of the surface of 
the ocean, is for the most part to the north of the geographical Equator. In 
the Oulf of Mexico it extends as far north as Latitude 2cS°, the Gulf Stream 
bearing thither the warm waters of the great Equatorial current. 

V. Fresh watei' becomes heaviest at the temperature of 31)°"2. 
If it be lieated above or cooled below tliis point it will rise, and 
the heavier water will sink. Since, then, water cools very slowly, 
deep lakes, in the most rigorous climates and severest seasons, 
will be frozen to but comparatively a slight depth. 

Shallow lakes in the Polar regions are often frozen to the bottom, conse- 
quently no fish can live in them ; while the deep lakes, which, owing to this 
kind provision of Nature, are never frozen to the bottom, are abundantly 
stocked with the finest fish, affording almost the entire means of subsistence 
to the wandering tribes of these sterile regions. 

VI. Springs appear at the surface of the earth at all temper- 
atures, from that of freezing, nearly or quite to the boiling 
point. Their temperature depends upon that of the reservoirs 
from which their supplies of water are received, and the character 
of the soil through which it passes to the surface. Warm and hot 
springs derive their supplies from waters which have ascended 
from a great depth, variously affected by contact with the heated 
rocks of the interior. 

Commodore Wilkes, of the United States' Exploring Expedition, describes 
water, with a temperature from 200° to 210°, oozing up through the gravel 
and sand of the beach on one of the Feejee Islands. 

Humboldt describes a spring near Porto Bello, in South America, with a 
temperature of 207°. The Hot Springs of Arkansas, about eighty in number, 
have a temperature averaging from 135° to 100°. 

VII. The temperature of the atmosphere chiefly depends upon 
the amount of heat received from the land and water. 

But little of the sun's heat is absorbed by the air before it reaches the 
earth. The sun's rays first strike the surface of the earth, and are either 
directly reflected, or are first absorbed, and then radiated, or thrown off into 
the atmosphere. 

VIII. The temperature of a place depends upon the direction 
and amount of the sun's rays, on its vicinity to the sea, on the 
prevailing winds to which it is exposed, and on its elevation 
above the level of the sea. 

1. The temperature of a place depends upon the direction and 
continuous time in which the sun's rays fall upon it. 

When the sun is most nearly vertical to any place, that is, when it is 
nearest to being directly over head, the greatest number of his rays reach 
tho surface of the earth at that place, imparting a greater amount of heat 
than at other times. This is the reason why it is warmer in our lati- 
tude at mid-day than at sunrise or sunset. In the equatorial regions, 
accordingly, over which the sun is nearly vertical during the whole of the 
j-ear, the mean temperature is the highest. Moreover, since the days and 
nights between the Tropics are of nearly equal length, the temperature 
during the year is quite uniform. The mean equatorial temperature of the 
air is about 83°. Tropical Africa is the hottest region on the globe, the 
mean tomperature reaching 85°-10; that of tropical Asia is 82°'94 ; and that 
of America, 80°-0G. 

The temperature of the air decreases as the distance from the Tropics to- 
wards the Poles increases. Thus, the mean temperature of the year, at the 
subjoined places, ranges as follows: — 

Give the renson wby deep lakes in the Polar regions are not frozen to the bottom. — 

On what docs the tem|ierature of springs depend? — On what does the temperature of the 

atmosphere depend ? — On what does the temperature of a place depend ? — Why docs the 

direction of the sun's rays affect the temperature of a place ? — Illustrate your statement. 

6 



N. Utituilc. 

Cairo 30° 

Philadelphia 40° 

(Juebec 4C° 



Tfrnjerature. 

72°. 

52°- 

42°. 



Melville Island 70° 47' l°-7. 

The temperature is not, however, as in the equatorial regions, uniform, 
but ranges between points far removed from each other. Thus, in the cele- 
brated northern expedition of Captain Parry, 1819-20, the maximum daily 
temperature at Jlelville Island, Lat. "0° 47' N., on the 17th of .July, was 
00° above ; while the minimum, on the loth of February, was 50° below 0: 
the maximum and minimum points being 110° apart. 

There are greater differences. During the Russian expedition to Khiva, 
in 1840, the mercury fell to 45°-4 below zero ; and for more than three 
months the mean temperature was about 0°. In June, the temperature rose 
to 114°-8. Thus, in the course of a few months, the troops were exposed to 
a variation of 100°. 

At Franconia, N; II., the mercury rose to 102° on July 13th, 1849, which 
was 140° higher than on the 0th of February following. 

niFFERESCE BETWEEN SOME MIXIMUM AND MAXIMFM TEMl'ERATCRES. 

Places. Difference. I Places. Difference. 

Rome 73° Prague 109° 

Copenhagen 90° I Petersburg 117° 

Paris 108° | Moscow 126° 

The high maximum temperature observed in the extreme nortliern lati- 
tudes is the result of the continuous time that the sun's rays fall upon those 
regions. During the brief summer of the Arctic regions, the power of the 
sun's beams, though feeble from the obliquity of their direction, accumulates 
in the long days, and sometimes produces in sheltered spots, effects which 
mio-ht be more naturally expected in the Torrid Zone. Pitch h.as been melted 
on the sides of ships — at Quebec, grapes sometimes ripen in the open air— 
and the summer temperature is often quite oppressive. 

It is owing, also, to the accumulated power of the sun's rays that the 
month of July is warmer than the month of June in our latitudes, notwith- 
standing the greater length of the days and the smaller inclination of the 
sun's r.ays in June ; the days are longer than the nights, and the quantity 
of heat imparted to the earth during the day is greater than the amount lost 
by radiation during the night : the maximum effect of this accumulation, or 
the hottest day, is generally observed in the latter part of the month of July. 

The variation in the mean annual temperature at any one place, from 
year to year, is very slight. Thus, the highest mean annual temperature in 
Geneva, Switzerland, for 20 years, from 1796 to 1815 inclusive, was 51°-6; 
the lowest, during the same time, 46°-9 — the difference being only 4°. 7. 

At Paris, in the years between 1803 and 1813, the variations from the 
standard mean never exceeded it more than 3°-4, or fell short of it more 
than 2°'9. The variable produce of our harvests is owing more to a change 
in the distribution of heat through the different months, than to any differ- 
ence in the annual supply. 

2. The temperature of a place is dependent upon its vicinity 
to the sea. The ocean is warmer in winter and cooler in summer 
than the land. The atmosphere over it, partaking of its temper- 
ature, and borne by the winds to places situated on or near the 
coast, gives to them a more uniform temperature than to those 
at a distance from the sea. 

These facts are illustrated in the following table:— 

Mean Mean Jlean 

Summer Temp. Winter Temp. Temp, of the Year. 



North Capo 43°., 

Irkoutsk C0°., 

Reikiavik (Iceland) 53°. 

JIoscow ^7 .. 

Falkland Islands 53°., 

Quebec 6S°. 



23° 


32° 


0° 


33° 


30° 


39° 


10° 


40° 


39° 


47° 


14° 


420 



What effect upon tho temperature of a place has the continuous time which the sun's 
r.ays fall upon it ? — Illustrate your statement.— Uow do the mean annual temperalui-es 
of places compare from year to year?— What effect has the vicinity of the ocean upon 
the temperature of a place ? 



42 



PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 



The cui-rents of the sea materially affect the temperature of places conti- 
guous to them. The Gulf Stream moderates the severe cold of Newfound- 
land, Iceland, and the coast of Norway. Humboldt ascribes the coolness on 
the shores of Peru to the cold sea current which flows along that coast. 
In the Pacific Ocean, near Lima, the temperature is C0°"2 ; while in the same 
latitude, out of the current, it is 79°'2. 

3. The temperature of a place depends also upon the pre- 
vailing winds to which it is exposed. The effect of a change in 
the direction of the wind, in producing a change of temperature, 
is a subject of common observation. In the higher latitudes 
these changes are often strikingly marked. Captain Scoresby, 
while in the neighborhood of the polar ice, observed that the 
mercury fell 34° in sixteen hours, by reason of the sudden 
veering of the wind to the north. 

It is undoubtedly owing in a great measure to the warm south-west trade- 
winds that the western coasts of North America and of Europe have a higher 
temperature than their eastern coasts. The mean annual temperature of Nain, 
in Labrador, (Lat. 57° 10',) is O^'S helmv the freezing point, while on the 
western coast, at New Archangel, (Lat. 57° ?>',) it is 12° above this point. 




4. The temperature of a place depends upon its elevation 
above the level of the sea. The repeated observations of aero- 
nauts and of travellers who have ascended high mountains, have 
established the fact that the temperature of the atmosphere 
decreases according to the perpendicular height above the sur- 
face of the earth. The rate of decrease is about 1° for each 
352 feet of ascent. 

A traveller, who should ascend one of the high peaks of the Andes, in 
tropical America, would find on the plain at its base the luxuriant produc- 
tions of the tropics, and an oppressively hot atmosphere ; at an elevation of 
GOOO feet, he would experience the warmth of summer in the Temperate 
Zones ; at the height of 10,000 feet, he would find the climate of spring in 
the same Zones ; at 12,000 feet, only a few stunted shrubs would be found 
growing ; and at an elevation of 15,000 or 16,000 feet, he would arrive at a 
region of perpetual snow. 

State the influence of the currents in producing a change of temperature. — Give 
examples to illustrate the effect of the winds upon the temperature of a place. — What 
effect has the elevation of a place upon its temperature? — Recapitulate the subjects of 
this chapter. 



IX. Recapitulation. — It thus appears that the temperature 
of the land of the earth varies with the depth ; that the temper- 
ature of the ocean varies with the depth and the latitude ; that 
the temperature of the atmosphere chiefly depends upon the 
amount of heat received from the land and the water. It follows 
that the heat of the land and the water, imparted to the atmo- 
sphere, determines the temperature of different places upon the 
earth : and that they vary with reference to the direction and 
continuance of the sun's rays, to proximity to the ocean, to the 
direction of the prevailing winds, and to the elevation above 
the level of the sea. 



CHAPTER III. 
THE WINDS. 

I. Wind is air in motion. The motion of the air is produced 
by a disturbance of its equilibrium, and the principal cause of 
this interruption is heat. 

The air expands and becomes lighter with heat; contracts, and becomes 
heavier with cold. When, therefore, any portion of the earth's surface is 
heated more than the surrounding districts, the air above it becomes heated 
also, and rises, causing an upper outward current. At the same time, the 
colder, heavier air rushes in to fill the space occupied by the ascending air, 
producing a lower inward current. 

A very simple experiment will illustrate the effect of a change of temper- 
ature in causing currents of the atmosphere. Let a lighted candle be held 
near the top of a door opening from out of a heated room into the external 
air, the current of warm air passing out will give to the flame an outward 
direction ; hold the candle near the floor, and the current of cold air pressing 
in will give the flame an inward direction. 

II. Currents of air receive their names from the direction 
from which they blow; currents of water from the direction 
towards which they flow. 

III. Winds, at different elevations, frequently blovv' in oppo- 
site directions. This is manifest from the fact that clouds, at a 
high elevation, are often seen moving towards a point of the 
compass opposite to that indicated by the weather-vane. 

The occurrence of upper counter-currents is very decisively proved by the 
following circumstances : — 

The inhabitants of the island of Barbadoes, in the West Indies, observed, 
one day, to their astonishment, a shower of ashes fell from the sky. This 
came from the volcano of St. Vincent, which is situated directly west of their 
island. The ashes had been launched high into the air, and transported 
from west to east, in the opposite direction to the trade-wind blowing below. 

On the 25th of February, 1835, the ashes emitted from the volcano of 
Cosiguina, in Guatemala, fell in the streets of Kingston, in the island of 
Jamaica. Kingston is 700 miles in a north-east direction from the volcano, 
and the trade-wind at the surface was blowing to the west. 

Aeronauts, who have ascended in balloons during a complete calm at the 
surface of the earth, have frequently encountered, when at an elevation of 
a few thousand feet, powerful currents carrying them at the rate of a mile 
a minute. 

What is \7'ind? — What is the principal cause of winds? — Give an illustration of cur- 
rents of air created by heat. — In what respects are currents of air and water differently 
named? — What proof is there that winds at different elevations blow in opposite direc 
tions? 



THE WINDS, 



43 



IV. Winds may be distinguislied as constant, periodical, and 
variable. Constant winds, prevailing witliin the tropics, are 
called "trade-winds," and maintain nearly the same direction 
a!id rate throughout the entire year. Periodical winds are those 
which regularly prevail in various parts of the earth at a certain 
time of the day or year, as the monsoons. Variable winds pre- 
vail in the regions beyond the tropics, the same wind seldom 
lasting many successive days. 

V. Trade Winds. — The origin of these winds may be easily 
explained. The equatorial regions are the hottest on earth. 
The air over those regions, therefore, becomes heated, and rising, 
flows over the colder masses on either side towards the north and 
south, from which directions the colder air rushes in to supply 
the place of the warmer currents constantly ascending. Thus, a 
northward and a southward current are created in each hemi- 
sphere : the one flows near the surface of the earth, and the other 
some distance above it. If the earth were at rest, the surface- 
winds of the tropical regions in the Northern Hemisphere would 
be north, and those of the Southern Hemisphere south. 

The earth, however, revolves from west to east, and the atmosphere which 
surrounds it partakes of its motion. The masses of air from the Poles, un- 
able, by reason of friction and other causes, to acquire the full measure of 
the earth's increased rotary velocity, fall behind, and are gradually turned 
ft-om a direct northerly and southerly into a north-eastern and south- 
eastern direction ; and, on approaching the Equator, they form the great 
easterly trade-wind which sweeps round the equatorial regions unceasingly, 
at a speed of from 10 to 20 miles an hour. 

The wind from the Poles, on its way to the Equator, takes the name of 
the North-east trade-wind in the Northern Hemisphere, and the South-east 
trade-wind in the Southern. " The North-east and South-east trades," says 
Lieut. Maury, " blow perpetually, and are as steady and constant as the 
current of the Mississippi Kiver, always moving in the same direction." 

The Trade-winds extend generally about 30° on each side of the Equator, 
but their limits vary considerably in ditferent parts of the ocean ; and being 
influenced by temperature, vary also with the seasons. The limits of the 
North-east trade-wind advance with the sun to the north, from winter to 
summer, and retreat with it towards the Equator, from summer to winter. 

The average varying limits of tlie Trade-winds in the Atlantic Ocean, at 
different seasons, are stated in the annexed table, taken from .Johnston's 
Physical Atlas : — 





North-east Trade-ttind. | 


SouTu-EAST Trade-wind. j 


Northern Limit. 
28° N. 
30° 45' " 
2S° 20' •' 
24° 45' " 


Southern Limit 
5° 45' N. 

11° 20' " 

10° 
50 45* « 


Northern Limit. 
1° 30' N. 
3° 16' " 
3° 15' " 
2° 30' " 


gouthern Limit. 

Unknown. 
ti 
It 
u 








Winter 



The North-east Trades commence in the Atlantic Ocean, a short distance 
from the African coast, and after being interrupted l)y the high lands of 
the American Continent and the islands of the Caribbean Sea, blow across 
the Pacific Ocean to the region of the Monsoons, about Longitude 14.5° East. 

The South-east Trades commence with the African coast, and extend 
across the Atlantic, and over the great plains of the Amazon to the foot of 
the Andes. Interrupted by this lofty chain, they commence again a short 
distance from the South American coast, and extend across the Pacific to 
Australia. West of Australia, and south of 10° S. Lat., they are continued 
nearly to the coast of Africa. 

The numerous islands of the Pacific, between the meridian of the Mar- 
quesas Islands, 139° W., and the east coast of Australia, give to the South- 
east Trade-wind much the character of a Monsoon, the variation in the tem- 
perature causing a change in the direction of the wind. In the open sea, 

AVhat are Constant Winds ? — AVhat Periodical ? — What Variable ? — Explain the cause 
of the Trade-winds. — W'hat name is given to the one north of the Equator? — AVhat 
name is given to the one south of the Equator? — Give the extent of the North-east 
Trades. — Of the South-east Trades. — Where is the region of Calms ? 



however, the direction of the trade-wind is maintained. So, also, in the 
region of the North-east Trades, in the Caribbean Sea, westerly currents called 
iviida rales (rainy winds,) prevail from July to December, alternating with 
the trade-winds. 

Where the North-east and South-east Trades approach each other, they 
tend to produce a purely eastern breeze, but this is not perceptible, on 
account of the continued ascent of the air caused by the excessive heat. 
This is the region of calms so much dreaded by sailors, which would be 
almost perfectly so, were it not for the frequent violent rains which disturb 
the equilibrium of the atmosphere, occasioning sudden squalls and storms. 
The limits of this region of calms at different seasons is given in the tiible 
the southern limit of the North-east Trade being its northern, and the 
northern limit of the .South-east Trade being its southern boundary. 

The extension of the Trade-winds further to the north than to the south 
of the Equator, may be accounted for by the greater quantity of land in the 
Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere, which retains a greater amount 
of heat, and by the additional warmth furnished by the northerly course of 
the warm Equatorial current. (.See page 35.) 

VI. Periodical Winds. — The Land and Sea Breezes, Mon- 
soons, Etesian Winds, and Northers of Mexico and Texas, are of 
this class. 

VII. Land and Sea Breezes. — On the sea-shore, especially 
on the coasts of tropical islands, a breeze from the sea is expe- 
rienced a few hours after sunrise. At first it is light and scarcely 
perceptible, but increases till mid-day; it is strongest between 
two and three o'clock in the afternoon, dying away to a perfect 
calm at sunset. Soon after sunset, a breeze from the land com- 
mences, and continues till morning. These breezes are caused 
by the difierent temperature of the land and water ; the land 
being hottest through the day, and coolest at night. Around 
spacious lakes, those in the northern part of the United States 
for example, for the 
same reasons, there is 
a breeze from the lake 
by day, and towards 
it at night. 

VIII. Monsoons. — 
The Monsoons are 
winds which prevail 
in the Indian Ocean, 
blowing part of the 
year in one direction, 
and part in the oppo- 
site one. The term 
is derived from the 
Malay \iovAMoussin, 
signifying a season. 




Commencement of the Monsoons. 



The North-east Monsoon, which prevails north of the Equator from about 
the middle of October to the middle of March, is a continuation of the North- 
east Trade-wind. The South-west Monsoon prevails north of the Equator, 
extending from the coast of Africa to about Longitude 145° East, from about 
the middle of April to the middle of September. This wind is caused by the 
greater warmth of the land, during the summer, than the sea. The air 
over the southern part of Asia, being heated more than that over the ocean, 
rises, and that of the sea rushes in to supply its place, causing the South- 
west Monsoon. 

South of the Equator, in the region of the Indian Ooe.an, north and north- 
west of Australia, a south-east wind prevails from about the middle of March 
to the middle of October, and a north-west wind from about the middle of 

Why do the Trade-winds extend further north of the Equator than south of it ? — How 
do you account for the Land and Sea Breezes ? — What are the Monsoons ? — "When and 
where does the North-east Monsoon prevail? — The South-west? — The North-west? — 
The South-east? 



44 



PHYSICAL GEOGKAPHY. 



September to the middle of April. The south-east wind is a continuation 
of the South-east Trade-wind, which, south of 10° South Latitude, blows 
regularly throughout the year. 

It is summer in Australia, south of the Equator, when it is winter in 
countries north of the Equator. The North-west Monsoon, which is caused 
by the heat of this large island, rarely blows with force and regularity except 
in the months of December and January. 

During the intervals between the establishment of the two monsoons, or 
from about the middle of March to the middle of April, and from the middle 
of September to the middle of October, calms and light breezes alternate with 
furious gales, hurricanes, and violent thunder-storms. 

Jlonsoons prevail also, though not so decidedly, on the coast of Brazil, and 
Pacific coast of Central America ; the cause of them being the unequal tem- 
perature of the sea and land, which has been already explained. 

The Monsoons are much stronger than the Trade-winds, frequently 
amounting to gales. They are also more serviceable to navigation from the 
change in their direction : for a ship sailing with one monsoon to a distant 
port, may be aided on the return voyage by its successor. 

IX. Etesian Winds. — The ancients gave this name (signifying 
annual or seasonal,) to periodical winds which blow strongly from 
the north in the Mediterranean Sea in summer. The cause 
assigned for these winds is the intense heat of the Desert of 
Sahara, lying to the south of the Mediterranean. With the aid 
of these winds, a passage across the sea from Europe to Africa 
in summer is much quicker than the return. 

X. Northers. — The Northers are violent winds from the north, 
which sweep the prairies of Texas and the low plains of Mexico. 
They prevail from October to March, seldom continuing to blow 
with severity, however, more than four or five days in succession. 
They are cold winds, most severe in the months of December 
and January. 

XI. Variable Winds. — The winds of the temperate and polar 
regions, since the same current rarely continues many successive 
days, are properly classed as variable. The prevailing direction 
of these winds, however, is clearly defined, and may be easily 
explained. Those of the Northern Hemisphere are south-west; 
of the Southern, north-west. 

The hot air which rises from the equatorial regions, and blows off towards 
the north and south, descends as it cools, and approaches the surface of the 
earth at about Lat. 30°, here encountering the currents proceeding from the 
Poles towards the Equator. For precisely the same reason as that which 
causes the winds from the Poles to bend towards the west, these " Return 
Trade-winds," as they are called, bend towards the east ; and in the Northern 
Hemisphere are south-west winds : in the Southern, north-west. They are 
more powerful than the winds from the Poles, and thus become the prevail- 
ing winds ; yet by no means have the constancy of the Trade-winds. 

The point at which the winds from the Equator and Poles encounter each 
other is a region of calms, similar to that existing between the trade-winds. 
On the ocean, these regions are well defined, advancing to the north and 
south with the change of seasons. They are called by Lieut. Maury the 
Calms of Cancer and of Capricorn. The Calms of Cancer have been long 
known to mariners as the " Horse Latitudes." This name was derived from 
the fact that vessels, engaged in carrying horses from New England to the 
West Indies, were often delayed by the baffling winds of this calm region, 
until their stock of water was nearly exhausted, and they were compelled to 
throw some of the horses overboard to save the others. 

The direction, extent, and elevation of mountain ranges, the occurrence 
and character of low lands, the vicinity of bodies of water, and all important 
changes in temperature, are among the reasons which will account for mate- 

What kind of weather prevails during the int«rvnls between the establishment of the 
Monsoons?— Which are most serviceable to navigation, the Monsoons or Trade-winds ? 
—Describe the Etesian Winds.— The Northers.— Why are the winds of the Temperate 
and Polar regions called Variable ?— What is the prev.ailing direction of the winds of 
the Northern Hemisphere? — V/hat of the Southern Hemisphere? 



rial changes in the prevailing direction of the winds, especially those of the 
Northern Hemisphere. 

XII. Some interesting deductions from the elaborate work 
of Prof. Coffin, on the Winds of the Northern Hemisphere, pub- 
lished by the Smithsonian Institute, are here subjoined: — 

1. In the Arctic regions of North America, lying within the Polar Circle, 
the mean direction of the wind is about N. N. W. 

2. Between the parallels of Latitude 60° and 66° N., there appears to be a 
belt of easterly or north-easterly winds. 

3. South of this region we find a Zone of westerly winds, about 23J° in 
breadth, entirely encircling the globe. It embraces the southern portion of 
British America, all of the United States, except the extreme southern part, 
nearly the whole of Europe, and most of the northern half of Asia. Out of 
251 stations in North America, east of the Mississippi, and situated within 
this belt, all but six have the mean direction of the wind westerly. Out of 
142 stations situated in this belt, 117 have the mean direction of the wind 
from some point between north-west and south-west. The eight stations of 
Asia, lying in this belt, all have the mean direction of the wind westerly. 

4. South of this belt the mean direction of the winds is easterly. 

5. Valleys strikingly modify the direction of winds. 

XIII. Winds may be divided also with reference to their phy- 
sical characters, into hot and cold, moist and dry. Those blow- 
ing from the ocean, or large bodies of water, are moist ; those 
from deserts, or the interior of continents, are dry. Those from 
the Polar regions, or descending from snow-capped mountains, 
are cold ; and those from the Torrid Zone are hot. 




A Sand-Storm in the Desert. 

XIV. The Simoom or Samiel, Khamsin, Harmattan, Sirocco, 
and Solano, are noted hot winds. The Pamperos and Bora are 
cold winds. 

1. The Simoom, known in the deserts of Arabia, Nubia, Persia, and Syria, 
derives its name from its temperature and supposed pestilential character: 

Statfrthe cause of these winds. — Where are the Calms of Cancer? — Of Capricorn? — 
By what name have the Calms of Cancer long been known to mariners? — Why this 

name ? AVhat conclusions with reference to the winds of the Northern Hemisphere are 

drawn from the elaborate work of Prof. Coffin ? — State some of the physical characters 
of winds. — Describe the Simoom. 



THE WINDS. 



45 



tlio Anibic iS'tnHHfn signifviiig at once liut and iiuIsdiiohs. The Turks call It 
Samii!, -wliicli likewise means poison. But tliou;;li dai]};c'rous, and some- 
times fatal in its effects, its pestilential and deadly attributes may be regarded 
as an Oriental fiction. Tlie Simoom blows only occa.sionally during intense 
lieat«, and seldom lasts longer than fifteen or twenty minutes, though some- 
times it continues for days. 

2. The Khamsin (fifty,) is the name given to a hdt south wind, not so 
oppressive as the Simoom, which blows in Egypt, Ci'iitinuing at intervals 
for a period of somewhat more or less than fifty days, from the end of April 
until June. 

3. The nannaitan is a very dry, hot wind, which blows from the Sahara 
over the coast of Guinea, during the months of Decemlier, January, and 
February. It generally occurs three or four times during the season, and 
continues usually from one to six days, though it has been known to last 
fifteen days. A fog or haze always accompanies it, so dense that the sun is 
only visible for a few hours at noon. 

4. The Sirocco, a well-known hot wind of Greece and Italy, and the 
Solano, a hot wind of Spain, are usually ascribed to the vicinity of the 
Sahara. 

5. The Pamperos are cold south-west winds, which originate among the 
snow of the Andes, and sweep with great violence over the level Pampas of 
Buenos Ayres. So sudden and violent are these winds, that persons bathing 
in the La Plata River have been drowned, finding it impossible to regain the 
shore while they raged. 

6. The Bora, a north-east wind, common in Dalmatia, on the eastern 
shores of the Gulf of Venice, is sometimes so furious as to overturn horses 
at the plough. 

XV. Whirlwinds. — We often see in the streets of our cities 
and towns, especially on a warm summer afternoon, just before a 
shower, many small whirlwinds, by which dust, leaves, and other 
light objects are raised uj) into the air. They are generally 
caused by the conflict of two winds meeting at an angle, in the 
same manner that eddies and whirlpools are formed in water 
by two currents being obliquely impelled against each other. 
When the winds thus meeting are powerful, great damage ensues, 
trees being torn up, and buildings destroyed. 

XVI. Tropical Storms, variously named Hurricanes, Typhoons, 
Cyclones, and Tornadoes, are revolving winds, which occur in 
certain localities at particular seasons of the year, often occa- 
sioning immense destruction of life and property. 

Meteorologists are not agreed as to all the causes of these terrific storms, 
(hough the condensation of the vapor of the atmosphere, caused by sudden 
changes in its temperature, is undoubtedly the principal one. When these 
storms occur upon a grand scale, they are accompanied by much thunder 
and lightning, and immense quantities of rain. They seldom approach 
nearer to the Equator than 8° or 10°, and rarely extend beyond the tropics, 
raging most furiously in the vicinity of continents and islands. 

From recent investigations by Mr. Redfield, Col. Reid, and others, it ap- 
pears that these storms may be regarded as great whirlwinds, from 50 to 500 
miles in diameter, revolving around a calm centre. The place of this centre, 
meanwhile, advances along a definite line upon the globe with a velocity 
varying from two to thirty or forty miles an hour. In the Northern Hemi- 
sphere, the direction of the whirlwind is from right to left, or opposite to 
the movement of the hands of a watch. In the Southern Hemisphere, the 
direction of the wind is from left to right, or with the movement of the hands 
of a watch. 

The storm is most furious, and, of course, most dangerous, nearest this 
calm centre ; the navigator, therefore, who finds himself within the limits of 
the hurricane, will, if possible, sail in the opposite direction from this centre. 

Describe the Khamsin. — Harmattan. — Sirocco. — The Pamperos. — Bora. — By what 
are whirlwinds generally caused? — What is the principal cause of tropical storms? — 
State the result of recent investigations into the character of tropical storms. 



To enable him to do so, the following rule is given in the London Admiralty 
Manual: — 

" When sure that you are within the limits of a Cyclone, stand erect, and 
look full in the wind's eye ; then, if in the Northern Hemisphere, turn your- 
self 90°, or one quarter of the circle, round to your right, (if in the Southern, 
as much to your left,) and ycm will have the centre of the hurricane 
facing you." 

This will be made more clear from an examination of the annexed drawing, 
which is designed to represent a West India Hurricane. 




O 



'% 



j| 'o/-, ■',■,■■ ■' .~»> VS 5 

IP " wwi^t'.noia.ai ^ .^' I S L A N D S 



St. 



Let C represent the calm centre of the storm, then the arrows will show 
the direction in which the wind revolves, and A B will represent the lino 
along which the storm advances. Now, let us suppose a vessel at a, the 
commander, who "stands erect, and looks full in the wind's eye," will find 
the wind there to be due north ; turning one quarter round to the right, ho 
has the direction of the calm centre, or place of greatest danger, due east 
from his vessel : and, knowing its direction, the experienced navigator knows 
what course to take to avoid it. 

XVII. There are three well-known hurricane regions : the 
West Indies, the Indian Ocean, and the Chinese Seas. 

Of 127 hurricanes in the West Indies, recorded in 354 years, from 1493 to 
1847, 15 occurred in July, 36 in August, 25 in September, and 27 in October. 
The only months in which no hurricanes have been known in this region, 
are January, April, and May. 

Some idea of the immense force of these storms may be derived from the 
description of the hurricane at Barbadoes, August 10th, 1831. "By this 
awful visitation, the whole face of the country was laid waste, 2500 persons 
perished, and 5000 were wounded. The force of the wind may be estimated 
by the fiict that a piece of lead, 400 pounds in weight, was lifted and carried 
to a distance of 1800 feet." 

In the Indian Ocean, the chief period of the occurrence of hurricanes is 
from November to .June. They are most frequent in Janifary and March. 
In the Bay of Bengal, they often prevail in May, but are most numerous in 
October and November. In the Chinese Seas, the typhoons occur at about 
the same season of the year as the West India hurricanes. 

The vicinity of Cape Horn, and the region of the Gulf Stream, beyond the 
Tropics, are noted ocean-storm regions. It was in one of the terrible gales 
of the Gulf Stream region that the ill-fated steamer San Francisco was lost, 
in December, 1853. It first encountered the gale at Lat. 39° N., and Lon. 
70° W., but before the vessel was abandoned, it had drifted with the stream 
several hundred miles to the north-east. 

XVIII. AVater-spouts are occasioned by whirlwinds near the 
surface of the water. They are much dreaded by sailors, though 
it is doubtful if large vessels have ever been destroyed by them. 
Sometimes twelve or fourteen may be seen at once in the Medi- 
terranean Sea. 

State the rule by which a navigator may know in what direction to find the place 
of greatest danger. — Explain the diagram. — Name the three principal hurricane 
regions. — By what are water-spouts occasioned? 



4G 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



Navigation. | 

XIX. The knowledge of the locality and direction of the 
winds and currents is of the utmost imjjortance in navigation. 
Formerly, the average time of a sailing vessel from England to 
the United States ■was sixty days ; now the same voyage is often 
made in less than half that time. 

" I knew an officer," says Captain Basil Hall, "who was ordered to cruize 
in the Mozambique Channel, between Africa and Madagascar, until a certain 
day, and then to proceed to the Isle of France. At the time appointed, he 
sailed to the northwai-d, but though he proceeded nearly to the Line in 
search of a north-west wind, he could not make a bit of easting ; and after 
sis weeks of ineffectual struggle between the north end of Madagascar and 
the Equator, he was obliged for want of water to run for a port in Africa, 
where he lost half of his crew by sickness, and was compelled to bear up at 
last for the Cape of Good Hope, and the whole object of his mission was 
defeated." If this officer, at the season of the year he was ordered to sail 
for the Isle of France, had taken a southerly course from Madagascar, he 
would have found a south-west wind which would have taken him, in fifteen 
or twenty days, directly into the port which he wished to reach. 

XX. A series of careful observations have recently been con- 
ducted under the direction of Lieutenant Maury, by which a 
pretty accurate knowledge of the currents of the air and sea 
have been obtained, and the result has been furnished to navi- 
gators in the form of sailing-charts. 

By following the directions of these charts, the time required for voyages 
has been greatly shortened. " The average passage out from the Atlantic 
ports to San Francisco," says Lieut. Maury, " is upwards of 180 days, but 
vessels with these charts on board have made it in 107, in 97, in 96, in 91, 
and even in 90 days ; and their masters, after making allowance for the 
improved models of their ships, ascribe this great success to the information 
vv-hich they derived from these charts as to the winds and currents by the 
way." 

The properly-trained seaman of the present day knows not only whore to 
expect the existence of the prevailing winds at the different seasons, but 
how to turn them to the best advantage in prosecuting his voyage. "It is 
one of the chief points of a seaman's duty," says Captain Basil Hall, " to 
know where to find a fair wind, and where to fall in with a favorable cur- 
rent. If we take a globe, and trace on it the shortest route by sea to India, 
and then fancy that such must be the best course to follow, we shall be 
very much mistaken. And yet this is very much what our ancestors actually, 
did, until time, and repeated trials, and multitudinous failures, gradually 
taught them where to seek for winds, and how to profit by them when found. 
According to this 'rule of thumb' sailing, a ship had only to steer from 
England to Madeira, pass the Canaries and Cape de Verdes, and then make a 
direct course to the Cape, and thence to India. On trial, however, this ex- 
periment always failed ; for, on getting near the Equator, a series of calms 
and squalls put a stop to this rectilinear scheme, and the mariners of old 
were then forced to toil along the coast of Africa, or were driven towards 
that of the Brazils, and very often came back in utter helplessness." 

XXI. Gieneral Principles in Navigation. — [Selected from 
•Johnston's Physical Atlas, and Maury's Sailing Directions.) — 
In the navigation of the great oceans by wind-propelled vessels, 
it is-a general rule that, in sailing from east to west, it is neces- 
sary as soon as possible to enter the zone of the trade-winds, 
and to endeavor to keep outside of that zone in sailing from west 
to east. 

1. From Europe to America. — In sailing from England to the United 
States, vessels are much retarded by westerly winds, which prevail in the 
proportion of two to one. They must also keep to the north of the Gulf 
Stream, whose eastward current would still farther oppose their passage. 
The Gulf Stream advances and recedes north and south with the sun, being 

Give examples to illustrate the importance to navigators of a knowledge of the 
locality and direction of the winds. — State some of the results of the observations con- 
ducted under the direction of Lieut. Maury. 



farthest north in September, and farthest south in March ; the route must, 
of course, be adapted to this circumstance. After passing the Banks of 
Newfoundland, the voyage is favored by the Arctic Current running south- 
west. The above is the route pursued by the steam and sailing packets from 
England to our northern ports. 

The southern route from Europe to America, although much longer in the 
distance to be traversed, is by some authorities reckoned preferable to the 
foregoing. On quitting Europe by this route, the object is to steer south or 
south-west, according to the prevailing winds, in order as soon as possible 
to reach the zone of the trade-winds. Once in the region of the trade-winds, 
the course westward must be shaped in accordance with the position of the 
port to be attained. 

2. From ilie United States to Europe. — The return to Europe is favored by 
the Gulf Stream and by the prevailing winds. The average passage for 
sailing vessels from New York being only 23 days, while that of the oppo- 
site voyage is 40. The passage from west to east has been accomplished in 
13 days. 

3. From New York to San Francisco. — On leaving New York, the ship 
must sail eastward to about the 60th meridian, before attempting to go south. 
The reason of this is, that if she were to steer directly from New York to 
Cape St. Roque, the North-east trades would carry her too far west, on to 
the northern shores of Brazil, and she would thus be retarded in passing 
around Cape St. Roque. 

After reaching the meridian of 60°, she takes the North-east trades as 
soon as possible, and passes Cape St. Roque at about the meridian of 32°. 
Thence her course along the coast inside of the Falkland Islands to Cape 
Horn is quite direct. The passage around Cape Horn is the most difficult 
part of the voyage, owing to the westerly winds of that quarter, which blow 
around the Cape in violent puffs and gales. 

After doubling Cape Horn, the vessel must sail far to the west, in order 
to enter the region of the South-east trades at a great distance from the 
coast, as these winds blow with much greater force and regularity far out at 
sea, than when within the disturbing influences of the land. After crossing 
the Equator, and getting into the North-east trades, the course is north-west, 
till these winds are passed. The vessel is then within the region of prevail- 
ing westerly winds, by which she may sail directly into port. 

4. From the United States or Europe to China, India, and Austr^tua. — Ves- 
sels usually make for Cape St. Roque, as if they were bound to C;i ■> Horn. 
Having passed inside of the Island of Trinidad (opposite Rio Janeiro), they 
can then taks the westerly winds and Southern Connecting Current, and 
make for the Cape of Good Hope. If the ship is bound for Australia, the 
best course is to pass about 1000 miles south of the Cape. The route thence 
to port is entirely in the region of prevailing westerly winds. 

From the Cape of Good Hope to India and China, the voyager has the 
choice of several routes, in the selection of which he must be guided by the 
season of the ye.ar, and the consequent direction of the monsoons. The 
explanation of these routes is, however, too complicated for the purpose of 
this work. 

South of the Calms of Capricorn, according to Lieut. Maury, the westerly 
winds prevail with great regularity entirely around the globe ; in the Pacific, 
especially, they blow almost with the steadiness of triide-winds. Vessels, 
therefore, that are bound from Europe and America to Australia, had better 
go by way of the Cape of Good Hope, and return via Cape Horn. 

For the locality of many routes between various ports, which require no 
particular description, see AVind Map of the World. 

XXII. Recapitulation. — It has thus been shown that a change 
in the temperature of the atmosphere is the principal cause of 
Winds, and that they may be classified as Constant, Periodical, 
and Variable ; the Constant and Periodical Winds prevailing 
principally within the Troj)ics, and the Variable in the regions 
beyond the Tropics. It has been shown, also, that a knowledge 
of the locality and direction of the Winds is of vast importance 
in navigation. 

What is the general rule to be observed in sailing from east to west, and from west 
to east? — Describe the course to be taken in the various routes enumerated in this 
chapter. — Recapitulate the subjects of this chapter. 



•■v 



^T 




£Dm 



48 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



CHAPTER IV. 
MOISTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 

Dew, Fogs, Clouds, Rain, Snow, and Hail. 

I. If a vessel be filled with water, and exposed to the open 
air, the quantity of the fluid will soon diminish, and after a time 
will entirely disappear. The stones wet by a summer shower, 
the plants covered by the morning dew, generally become dry 
soon after the sun has begun to shine upon them. In all these 
cases the water is evaporated — being converted by the heat into 
invisible vapor, and diffused through the air. So evaporation 
goes on from the oceans, lakes, rivers, and moist ground of the 
entire globe. 

Since evaporation depends upon heat, it is apparent that it will he greatest 
in amount during the hottest season of the year and the warmest part of the 
day. It is apparent, also, for the same reason, that the quantity of vapor 
will decrease in proceeding from the Equator towards the Poles; and as 
water is less abundant in the interior of continents than in maritime regions, 
the amount of evaporation will diminish from the coast towards the interior, 
provided the temperature is the same. 

The average annual evaporation in the Temperate Zones is estimated at 
from 36 to 37 inches. That of the Torrid Zone probably amounts to from 
90 to 100 inches. The difference in the quantity of evaporation between 
hot and cold seasons is shown by the fact, that, in the vicinity of London, 
the amount in June was 3| inches, while that of January was less than 
half an inch. 

II. The air is only capable of receiving a certain quantity of 
vapor. This capacity depends upon its temperature : increasing 
with heat, and decreasing with cold. When as much has been 
taken up as its temperature will permit it to receive, the air is 
said to be at the dew-point, or the point of saturation ; and any 
farther supply floats in a state of cloud or mist, or is resolved 
into a fluid condition, and falls to the surface of the earth again. 
When, too, the atmosphere is satui'ated, the least decrease in its 
temperature is followed by the precipitation of moisture. 

III. Detv is the moisture collected during the night, in the 
form of small drops of water, on the surface of plants and other 
bodies. Its deposit takes place on clear, still nights, when the 
surface of the bodies on which it collects is cooler than the dew- 
point of the surrounding atmosphere. 

The explanation is simple. It has been already stated that the dew-point 
is that temperature of the atmosphere which will admit of no decrease with- 
out parting with some of its moisture. Most, perhaps all, bodies exposed to 
the open air after sunset, cool more rapidly than the atmosphere ; when 
their temperature falls below the dew-point of the adjacent air, they con- 
dense its vapor into small drops of water, which are deposited on their 
surface. 

If, on a warm summer day, a pitcher be filled with cold water, and per- 
mitted to stand for a short time, the outside of it will be covered with 
moisture, in the form of numerous small drops of water. This moisture is 
the vapor of the atmosphere which has been condensed by the cold surface 
of the pitcher, in precisely the same manner that dew-drops are condensed 
by plants and other bodies. 

IV. Clear nights are most favorable to the collection of dew. 

What causes water to disappear if exposed to the open air? — On what does evapora- 
tion depend? — When and where will evaporation be greatest in amount? — On what 
does the capacity of the air to receive vapor depend? — What is Dew? — Explain the 
cause of dew. 



because bodies cool much more rapidly on such nights than on 
cloudy ones. Gentle breezes facilitate its deposit, by bringing 
a greater portion of the atmosphere into contact with the cold 
bodies by which its vapor is condensed ; while strong breezes 
utterly prevent this deposit, by not permitting the air to remain 
long enough in contact to be cooled below the dew-point. 

Dew is most abundant in maritime countries, and in regions where the 
air contains a great amount of moisture. The average annual quantity 
throughout Great Britain is estimated at a depth of five inches. Within the 
Tropics, where the sky is clear, and the evaporation very great, the dew is 
so abundant that its effects are almost like that of a gentle shower of rain. 

V. Hoar-frost, or White-frost, is frozen dew. When the objects 
by which the vapor is condensed are cooled below 32°, (the 
freezing point,) the vapor no longer appears in the form of drops 
of water, but in minute icicles, called Hoar-frost. 

VI. Mists, or fogs, are masses of vapor resting upon or near 
the surface of the earth. They consist of an immense number 
of exceedingly small, hollow globules of water, and are formed 
when the air is saturated, and generally when the moist soil and 
bodies of water are warmer than the atmosphere ; the vapors of 
the warmer air near the surface being condensed by the colder 
air above, and made visible. 

In countries where the soil is moist and warm, and the air moist and cold, 
thick and frequent fogs maybe expected. This is the case in England. 

The dense fogs which prevail in the vicinity of the island of Newfound- 
land, are caused by the great difference between the temperature of the 
atmosphere and that of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. 

In some parts of the equinoctial regions, fogs sometimes continue during 
a considerable portion of the year. On the coast of Peru, in South America, 
they supply the place of rain, which is of very rare occurrence. Humboldt 
relates that Lima is often covered with a fog h.alf the year, especially in the 
morning and evening. 

VII. In Autumn, soon after sunset, on a fine, clear day, we 
frequently observe fogs hanging over the rivers and lakes, while 
the adjacent land is free from them. They are caused by the 
soil cooling more rapidly than the water. The atmosphere over 
the land becomes cooler than that over the water, and as the 
latter, being warmer, gently rises, the vapor of the cooler air 
which presses in to take its place is condensed, and a fog ensues, 
confined to the expanse of water. 

Fogs of an ordinary density are easily dispersed by a brisk wind, and 
quickly disappear before the rays of the morning sun. In the -one case the 
air being kept in constant motion, and in the other its temperature being 
increased — both preventing the condensation of vapor. 

VIII. Clouds are masses of visible vapor, difiering in no respect 
from fogs, except in position. They are suspended at a consi- 
derable elevation in the atmosphere, instead of being confined to 
the surface of the earth. 

Travellers, on the summit of high mountains, frequently speak of their 
view being intercepted by fogs below; while to the inhabitants in the valleys 
these fogs are clouds. 

Clouds range from 150 feet to five miles in height: their average elevation 
being about two and a half miles. Though heavier than the atmosphere, 
they are supported by the ascending currents of heated air, and by the dif- 
ferent winds — -as soap-bubbles and dust are borne to great heights and 
distances. 

State the circumstances most favourable to the deposit of dew. — What is Hoar- 
Frost? — What are Mists? — What is the cause of mists or fogs? — Where do fogs occur 
most frequently? — What are Clouds? — How do they differ from fogs? — How are they 
supported in the atmosphere? 



MOISTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 



49 



IX. Clouds have been divided, according to tlit-ir foi-m, into 
tlirce distinct classes: — 

1. The Cirnm (also called the Curl-chud, ami by sailors the Cats /ail,) 
uccupies the higliest position in the atmosphere, and resembles a lock of 
liair, or a white feather. It is composed of thin, white threads, that fre- 
quently arrange themselves in parallel bands. Owing to their great eleva- 
tion, they must consist of minute particles of ice, or flakes of snow. It is 
among these clouds that circles around the sun and moon, called lialox, are 
formed. They are supposed to indicate a change of weather, and last but 
a few hours, often but a fesv minutes. They are subject to the upper cur- 
rents of wind. 



'J'lio rain which falls to the ground is not all derived from the higher clouds 
which float in the atmosphere ; but also from the lower regions, between 
them and the surface of the earth. Prof Dove states that the yearly amount 
of rain which falls on the roof of the Royal I'alacc at Berlin, is 18 inches in 
depth ; while that on the pavement below, amounts to 20 inches. The 
average annual fall of rain on the top of the Observatory at Paris, for ten 
years, from 1817 to 1827, was 19-88 inches ; in the court, a hundred feet 
below, it was 2221 inches. 

XI. The distribution of rain is very unequal — the amount 
varying greatly between different places, and at different seasons 
of the year. 

The quantity of rain falling in a single day in tropical regions is often 
immense. Thus, in Sierra Leone, on two successive d.ays (the 22(1 and 23d 
of August, 1828), the fall was 20 inches ; and at Cayenne, in French Guiana, 
Admiral Roussin collected 10 inches in 10 hours. On comparing sever.al 
years, however, the annual amount of rain, like the annual amount of heat, 
I is found to be remarkably uniform ; long-continued droughts and excessive 
moisture being more the result of unequal distribution, than of any varia- 
tion in the annual mean. 

The absolute greatest annual fall of rain is reported as follows: — 







Place. 


Authority. 


Inches. 


Cherrapongi, British India, 


Johnston's Physical Atlas 




Tropical Asiii. 


(Folio Edition.) 


610-3 


Mjibabaleshwar, British India, 




1 


Tropical Asia. 


Petcrraann. 


.S03 


San Luis de Maranham, Brazil, 


Johnston's Phy.sical .\tlas, 




Tropical America. 


(Folio Edition.) 


280 


JIatouba, Gu.adeloupe, 


Johnston's Physical Atlas, 




West Indies. 


(Folio Edition.) 


292 


Sierra Leone, Tropical Africa. 


Peterinann. 


313 



XII. The following are general laws relative to the distribu- 
tion of rain : — 

1. It decreases in quantity from the Equator to the Poles, 
because heat, which is the origin of vapor and the cause of rain, 
decreases in the same direction. 

The average annual fall of rain in the tropical regions of the Western 
Continent is stated in .Johnston's Physical Atlas (Folio Edition), at 113 
inches; that of the Eastern Continent, at 79-7 inches. The average annual 
quantity in the Temperate Zone of the Western Continent (United States), 
is stated on the same authority at 39 inches ; that of the Eastern (Europe), 
at 34 inches. 

Rainy days are more numerous in the Temperate Zones than in the 
Equatorial regions. Between the Tropics, during the dry season, weeks 
and frequently months pass without a drop of rain falling, or a cloud being 
seen ; while in some places in the Temperate Zones, as the island of Sitka, 
on the north-west coast of North America, there have been years in which 
there were only furty days during which r.ain or snow did not fall. 

2. The quantity of rain decreases as we recede from the 
coasts to the interior of a continent, because the laud supplies 
less vapor than the sea. 

The truth of this general law, though there are many exceptions to it, 
especially in the case of mountain chains, has been abundantly proved by 
many observations in Europe and the United States. 

The western coasts of Great Britain, France, and Portugal, have an annual 
average of from 30 to 50 inches; Coimbra, in Portugal, has 111 inches of 
rain. In Poland and Russia, the fall is 15 inches ; at Ekaterinburg, east 
of the Ural Mountains, it is 13 inches ; and in the interior of Siberia, the 
amount is still less. 

The annual number of rainy days also decreases with the increased dis- 
tance from the sea. On the eastern coast of Ireland it rains 208 days in 
the year ; at Irkoutsk, in Siberia, only 57 days. 

Into what three distinct classes are clouds divided ? — Describe each of them. — What Give examples to illustrate the amount of rain which falls in some tropical places. — 

name is given to the rain-cloud? — What changes occur in the atmosphere to cause the I State and illustrate the first general law with reference to the distribution of rain. — 
full of rain ? — Why does less rain fall upon the top of a building than upon the ground? | The second. 



1. Cirrus. 2. Cumulus. 3. Stratus. 4. Nimbus. 

2. The Cumulus (heap or pile,) is usually seen in the form of avast hemi- 
Bpherical heap of vapors, resting on a horizontal base. It may be called a 
summer cloud, most frequently occurriug during that season, and resembling 
a mountain of snow, lighted up by the sun. It begins to form early in the 
morning, reaches its greatest magnitude in the hottest part of the day, and 
breaks up towards sunset. 

3. The Stratus cloud consists of horizontal bands near the surface of the 
earth, and belongs to tjje night, — forming at sunset, and breaking up at 
sunrise. 

4. The Kimhxis, or rain-cloud, is much more dense and heavy than the 
others. It is fringed at the edges, and has a dull grey or leaden hue. Any 
of the other varieties of clouds may change to the Nimbus. 

X. Rain. — As the quantity of vapor in the atmosphere in- 
creases, or a change in temperature causes its more rapid con- 
densation, the clouds, growing more heavy, sink to a lower level ; 
and the small globules of water, of which they are composed, 
becoming larger, form drops of rain, which, increasing in size, 
fall to the earth. 



50 



.PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



3. In the Temperate Zones of both hemispheres, more rain falls 
upon the ■western coasts than upon the eastern, because they are 
exposed to the prevailing westerly winds, which, passing over the 
ocean, are highly charged with moisture. Within the Tropics, 
on the contrary, the eastern coasts, especially those of the New 
World, are more moist than the western, because of their 
exposure to the trade-winds. 

The average annual fall of rain on the west side of England is 45'5 
inches; on the east side, 27'4 inches: on the west side of Ireland, 47 '4 
inches ; on the east side, 29'7 inches. 

4. More rain falls in mountainous than in level districts, be- 
cause the mountains arrest the clouds, and their cold summits 
condense the vapors which these clouds contain. Much less rain, 
on the contrary, falls on elevated table-lands than on the low 
plains, because the mountain chains which usually form the 
boundaries of table-lands draw from the clouds the greater part 
of their moisture. 

The average annual fall of rain among the mountain ranges of the British 
Islands is 40'59 inches ; on the plains, 24'51 inches. The annual rain fall 
at Berne, at the foot of the Alps, is 43 inches ; and on the Great St. Bernard, 
at an elevation of about 8000 feet, and the highest meteorological station in 
Europe, 63 inches. 

High mountain ranges sometimes occasion an excess of moisture on 
one side of them. At Bergen, in Norway, west of the Scandinavian 
Mountains, the average annual rain fall is 82 inches ; while at Stockholm, 
on the eastern side, it is only 21 inches. The clouds brought from the 
Atlantic by the prevailing south-west winds are arrested by the mountains, 
and nearly all the moisture is withdrawn from them. In like manner, the 
Sierra Nevada of the United States arrests the moist south-west winds of 
the Pacific, depriving them of nearly every particle of moisture ; so that 
while California is .abundantly watered, the Great Basin of Utah on the east, 
receiving but little rain, is mainly a barren desert. 

The diiference in the quantity of rain which falls on table-lands and low 
plains, is strikingly illustrated in the Spanish Peninsula. - On the coasts of 
Spain and Portugal, the annual rain fiill is from 25 to 35 inches ; on the 
table-land of Spain, it is only 10 inches. 

5. More rain falls in the Northern than in the Southern Hemi- 
sphere. Lieut. Maury assigns the following reason for this fact. 
The Southern Hemisphere contains three times as much water 
as the Northern ; the amount of evaporation, therefore, in the 
former is much greater than in the latter. The South-east trade- 
wind bears away a much greater amount of moisture than the 
North-east. Where the two trade-winds meet, near the Equator, 
they rise into the higher regions of the atmosphere and cross 
each other, the South-east current proceeding to the north, and 
the North-east flowing to the south. When they afterwards 
descend to the surface, in the Temperate Zones, the South-east 
trade, being more moist, contributes a much greater amount of 
rain to the Northern Hemisphere, than the North-east to the 
Southern. 

The average annual fall of rain in the Temperate Zone of the Northern 
Hemisphere, as stated by Johnston (Physical Atlas, Folio edition), is 37 
inches ; that of the Southern Hemisphere, 33 inches. It is evident, also, 
that more rain falls in the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere, from 
the greater number and larger size of the rivers in the former than in the 
latter ; if we except the La Plata, in South America, and the Orange and 
Zambeze, in South Africa, there is scarcely a river of any magnitude in the 
South Temperate Zone. 



How does the quantity of rain which falls upon the western coasts of different coun- 
tries compare with that which falls on the eastern ? — How does the quantity which falls 
on mountains and table-lands compare with that which falls on the plains? — Give ex- 
amples. — Why does more rain fall in the Northern than in the Southern Hemisphere? 



XIII. The surface of the earth may be classified as com- 
prising — 1. Rainless Regions. 2. Regions of Periodical Rains, 
and 3. Regions of Frequent Rains. 

1. Rainless Regions. — The rainless districts of the New 
World comprise a tract of country along the coast of Peru, and 
a part of Central America, Lower California, and the Table-land 
of Mexico. On the Eastern Continent, they consist of an enor- 
mous tract of country, 1200 miles wide, commencing in Africa 
near the Atlantic coast, and extending in a north-easterly direc- 
tion, across the Red Sea nearly to the River Indus ; and another 
tract nearly as large, lying north of the Himalaya Mountains, 
including the Table-land of Thibet, the Desert of Gobi, and a 
part of Mongolia. 

The entire area of the rainless districts is estimated at six and a half 
millions of square miles. In some parts of them, not a drop of rain falls; 
and in others, it is only known at long intervals, and in very small quantities. 

The rainless district of Northern Africa is a desert region, the intense heat 
arising from which disperses the clouds that the moist winds from the 
Atlantic and Mediterranean cause to blow over it — a decrease in tempera- 
ture being always requisite to the fall of rain. 

The rainless districts of Central Asia lie to the north of the Himal.aya 
Mountains. This lofty range arrests the naoist south-west winds which 
blow from the Indian Ocean, and draws from them nearly every particle of 
their moisture ; so that, though the countries south of this range are among 
the most abundantly watered upon the globe, those north of it are barren 
deserts, on which scarcely a drop of rain falls. 

The rainless district of Peru is situated in the region of the South-east 
trade-winds. These winds bear abundant moisture across the plains of 
South America to the foot of the Andes ; climbing this high chain, their 
moisture is all precipitated on the eastern declivity, and on the coast of 
Peru they are cool and dry. 

The fogs and copious dews, which prevail along the Peruvian coast, in a 
great degree compensate for the absence of rain. Occasional showers are, 
however, experienced ; and thunder is sometimes heard, but so rarely, that 
such occurrences are noted as shocks of earthquakes are in the United States. 

The quantity of rain in the centre of Australia, in the central part of 
Southern Africa, on the low plains of Patagoni.a, and in the western part 
of the United States between the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains, is 
very limited ; during some years, indeed, no rain falls. 

2. Periodical Rains occur in the tropical regions, where 
seasons of excessive moisture are followed by months of entire 
absence of rain. The length of the rainy season varies in difier- 
ent districts, but generally lasts from three to five months. In 
some parts of these regions there are two rainy and two dry 
seasons annually. 

Periodical rains follow the apparent course of the sun. From April to 
October, when the sun is in the Northern Hemisphere, they prevail north 
of the Equator ; from October to April they prevail south of it. The trade- 
wind belts and region of calms advance with the sun to the north in summer, 
and recede with it towards the south in winter. The region of equatorial 
calms is one of almost constant precipitation ; to all places, therefore, which 
it passes on its way from the north to the south, and from the south to the 
north, it brings abundant rains : and to all places which it passes twice 
during the year, it brings two rainy seasons. 

More rain falls in a single month in the tropical regions than during the 
entire year in most parts of the Temperate Zone. There is a striking simi- 
larity in the character of these rainy days. The sun usually rises in a clear 
sky — a little before noon, clouds appear ; and at noon the rain commences 
frequently pouring in torrents for four or five hours: at sunset, the clouds 
disappear, the rain ceases, and not a drop falls during the night. 

How may the surface of tho earth be classified with reference to the quantity of rain 
that falls ? — Which .ire the principal rainless districts ? — Why does it not rain in North- 
ern Africa? — In Central Asia? — On the eo:i?t of Peru ? — Where do Periodical Rains 
occur ? — Describe these rains. — What sections have two rainy seasons during the year? 



MOISTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE. 



51 



In the countries bordering on the Indian Ocean, the fall of rain is depend- 
ent upon the monsoons, and nut upon the change of seasons. The influence 
of the monsoons extends to the Himalaya Mountains, and far into the inte- 
rior of China. 

During the prevalence of the South-west Monaoon, from the middle of 
March to the middle of September, the western coasts of the peninsulas of 
Southern Asia are washed by abundant rains, and the eastern enjoy fine 
clear weather. When the North-cast Monsoon blows, the eastern coasts of 
Southern Asia, Africa, and Madagascar are visited by rains, while the western 
coasts of the Asiatic Peninsulas are dry. 

The western coasts of Patagonia and Chili are watered by heavy winter 
rains — the opposite coasts by light summer rains. Around Cape Horn the 
rain is almost perpetual : according to Johnston, 153'75 inches were collected 
hei'e in forty-one days. In California, the rainy season is during the winter 
and spring. In Oregon, rain is most abundant in winter. 

3. Region of Frequent Rains. — In countries beyond the 
Tropics, rain is not confined to any particular time of the clay 
or season of the year. 

In the region of Frequent Rains it does or may rain during every day 
of the year, and the rains are probably as common during the night as the 
day ; whereas, within the Tropics, during many months, not a drop of rain 
falls, and even in the rainy season the nights are generally dry. The rain 
in this region is not always equally distributed throughout the entire year. 
Thus, in Southern Europe, more rain falls in winter than in summer. 

XIV. The annual rain fall of the entire globe is estimated by 
Johnston as follows : " Within the Tropics, the mean annual fall 
of rain is about 8*50 feet ; in the Temperate Zones, 3-05 feet ; 
and in the Frigid Zones, 1-25 feet." 




'CUDERBACk -mTB/'hii 
A Snow Storm. 

XV. Snow, which is the frozen vapor of the atmosphere, falls 
when the temperature of the air is at or below the freezing point. 
If the air near the surface is sufficiently cold, the snow reaches 
the earth ; but if it is too warm, the snow melts near the surface, 

On what depends the fall of rain in eour tries bordering on the Indian Ocean? — Re- 
pent Jotinston's description of the ditfereni e in the fall of rain in the tropical regions, 
and reg »ns beyond the Tropics. — What is Johnston's estimate of the annual r.ain fall 
ot" the ( otire globe? 



and descends in the form of rain, while at the same time it may 
be snowing at a greater elevation. 

The colder the atmosphere, the less moisture it contains Snow, therefore, 
rarely falls on very cold days : neither is the quantity which falls on the 
summits of very high mountains, as thi' Himalaya and Andes, large, com- 
pared with that which descends to a lower level. Tlie common expression, 
that it is " too cold to snow," is quite correct. 

Flakes of snow, when collected on objects of a dark color, and examined, 
are observed to be of a beautiful and regular form, similar to the annexed 
representations. 












XVI. Snow never falls to the level of the sea between the 
Tropics ; but from the Equator to the Poles, at different eleva- 
tions, forms a permanent covering of the earth's surface. 

The northern and southern limits of the fall of snow to the level of the 
sea, are indicated by lines on the rain-map of the world. It may be stated 
as a general law, that from the northern limit thus indicated towards the 
North Pole, and from the southern limit towards the South Pole, the quan- 
tity of snow, and the number of days on which it falls, increase. 

The number of days in which snow falls in Europe increases in the fol- 
lowing order from south to north: — Rome has one and one-half snowy days 
in each winter; Venice, five and one-half: Paris, twelve ; Copenhagen, thirty; 
and St. Petersburgh, one hundred and seventy-one. 

XVII. It has been already stated that the temperature de- 
creases in ascending above the level of the sea. It is evident, 
therefore, that in all latitudes, and at all seasons of the year, a 
limit may be reached, above which the moisture precipitated will 
all fall in the form of snow, and constitute a permanent covering 
to the earth's surface : this limit is called the snow-line. 

South L.Tlitii<1e. Norlli Latiliidf. 



30,000 



■^ =/ 



g^f^^%^S, 1 ! 




Diagram rcpr 



the Elevation of the Snow Line between the North and 
South Poles. 



If we suppose a line representing the limit of perpetual snow to be drawn 
from the South to the North Pole, in tlie direction of the Andes and Rocky 
Mountains, wo shall find that in the Polar regions it corresponds with the 
level of the sea ; in the latitude of the Straits of Magellan, 53° South, it is 
3700 feet above the level of the sea; in lat. 43° South, GOOD feet; lat. 33°, 
14,700 feet ; in lat. 15°, about 15,000 feet; and in the Andes, near Quito, 1° 
South, where it attains its greatest elevation, 18,300 feet : from this point it 
descends gradually towards the North Pole. 



Under what circumstances does snowfall? — Is it ever too cold to snow? — What 
portion of the earth's surface is permanently covered with snow? — State the number 
of d.ays on which snow falls in some of the principal cities of Europe.— What is under- 
stood by the ''snow line"? 



52 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



The actual height of the snow-line is variously affected by local causes: 
such as the vicinity of the sea, the prevailing direction of the wind, and the 
amount of heat radiated from the adjacent table-lands. Thus, on the south- 
ern slope of the Himalaya Mountains, the snow-line is reached at the eleva- 
tion of 12,982 feet; while farther north, on the northern slope of the same 
range, it rises to 16,630 feet. This is owing to the radiation of heat from 
the adjacent plains and plateaus of Thibet, and to the remarkable serenity 
of their atmosphere. 

XVIII. Glaciers. — Intimately connected with the fields of 
perpetual snow, and dependent upon them for their origin, are 
Glaciers or Ice Rivers. They are found in all latitudes. In the 
Polar regions they form a permanent covering of the earth at the 
sea level; receding through the Temperate and warm Zones, 
their hold on the earth is found to depend on the elevation ; until 
in the Equatorial regions, they are permanent only on the sum- 
mits and in the valleys of high mountains, at an elevation of 
15,000 or 16,000 feet. 




View of a Ghui'-r nii the Northern Coast of Greenland. (Drawn by 
George G. White, from a Slietch by Dr. Kane.J 

The principal localities of glaciers, besides the Polar regions, are, in 
America, the Andes of Chili and Patagonia ; in Europe, Iceland, the Scan- 
dinavian Mountains, the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Caucasus Mountains ; 
in Asia, the Himalaya, Kuen LUn, and Altai Mountains ; in Africa, the 
Atlas range. The extent of surface covered by glaciers has not been defi- 
nitely ascertained. In the Alps alone there are 1500 square miles of ice, 
from 80 to 000 feet thick ; ninety-five square miles of snow and ice clothe 
Mont Blanc. Some of the glaciers of the Alps are from 15 to 20 miles in 
length, and three miles in breadth. Dr. Kane, in his recent Arctic Expe- 
dition, discovered, on the northern coast of Greenland, an immense glacier 
500 feet high, which he followed along the base for 80 miles. 

XIX. Glaciers may be compared to the icicles which hang 
from the eaves of a snow-covered roof. As these icicles owe 
their origin to the melting of the snow upon the roof, so also the 
glaciers are caused by the melting of the snow which perpetually 
covers the mountain peaks above. 

In elevated mountain valleys, glaciers are formed by the fall of snow, 
which is increased in amount by immense quantities precipitated from the 
adjacent mountain peaks. This mass is subjected to alternate freezing and 
thawing, until, in the progress of centuries, the valley becomes filled with a 
body of ice constituting the glacial formation. 

XX. The ice of glaciers differs from pond or river ice, being 
less transparent and more porous. It is not formed in layers. 

What are Glaciers ? — State the principal localities in which they occur ? — To what 
may they be compared? — How are they formed? — How does the ice of glaciers differ 
from other ice? 



but is a mixture of ice, snow, and water. The lower part of 
glaciers contains the most pure and solid ice. As seen through 
the numerous fissures, it has a green hue ; at the bottom, a blue 
tinge ; but the entire mass frequently exhibits every variety of blue. 

The observations and experiments of many scientific men have demon- 
strated that glaciers have a regular descending motion, by which they are 
often pushed below the limit of perpetual snow. That of the Aar descends 
1500 feet, and that of the Lower Grindelwald 5000 feet, below the snow-line. 
Thus reaching the warm cultivated grounds below, they are wasted by the 
increased temperature, and are of essential service in supplying water to the 
surrounding lands ; they form also the sources of rivers. 

Were the snow precipitated at once into the valleys, its sudden melting 
would overflow and devastate the surrounding countries ; congealed in the 
form of glaciers, it is held suspended, and forms an unfailing supply of 
water during the protracted droughts of summer. The Rhone issues from 
the glacier of Mount Furea; and the Ganges flows at once a rapid stream, 
40 yards broad, from a huge cave in the perpendicular front of a glacier. 

Glaciers, by their enormous onward pressure, break oif masses of rock from 
the sides and bottoms of their valley-courses, and carry along everything 
that is movable; forming large accumulations of earth and stones in front, 
and along their sides. These accumulations are called moraines. 

XXI. Icebergs are huge masses of fresh-water ice, broken off 
by the waves from the glaciers in the Polar seas. They are of 
various dimensions, from a few yards to miles in cii'cumference, 
rising hundreds of feet out of the water. They have the appear- 
ance of glittering chalk-cliffs, towering aloft in fantastic shapes, 
and presenting a most sublime spectacle. 

Great numbers of icebergs are annually drifted by marine currents far into 
the Atlantic Ocean. As they slowly melt in its waves, they cool the water 
sensibly for 40 or 50 miles around, and lower the temperature of the air to 
such a degree that their approach is plainly perceived long before they come 
in sight. They are often encountered in such numbers that the sea is covered 
with them as far as the eye can reach. In the spring, the Arctic icebergs 
come within the routes of navigation, and occasion the loss of many vessels 
every year. 

XXII. Avalanches are large masses of snow and ice which 
roll down the mountains, and sometimes cause fearful destruction. 
They destroy houses and villages, break down whole forests, and 
sometimes even interrupt the course of rivers. 

In 1478, sixty soldiers, in the district of St. Gothard, in Switzerland, were 
destroyed by an avalanche. In 1595, the course of the River Rhine was so 
much interrupted by the fall of a great avalanche across it, that the water 
rose, and drowned many men and cattle. 

XXIII. Hail is frozen rain. It is usually formed at a great 
height in the atmosphere, and appears to owe its origin to the 
sudden condensation of vapor, caused by the meeting of winds 
of different temperatures. Its fall is generally accompanied with 
thunder and lightning, and frequently occasions much damage. 
Ilail-stones sometimes fall as large as hen's eggs. 

XXIV. Recapitulation. — It thus appears that heat is the 
chief cause of all those conditions of the atmosphere which have 
been described in this chapter, viz. : Dew, Hoar-frost, Fogs, 
Clouds, Rain, Snow, Glaciers, Avalanches, Icebergs, and Hail. 
It is an important fact, that since the amount of heat which the 
globe annually receives from the sun is the same from year to 
year, the annual moisture caused by that heat is unvarying, not- 
withstanding local changes. 

What are Icebergs? — In what ocean are they often found?-— What is an Ava- 
lanche? — What is Hail? — How is it formed? — Recapitulate the subjects of this 
chapter. 



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54 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



CHAPTER V. 

CLIMATE. 

I. The -word Climate signifies the condition of the atmosphere 
uith regard to heat and coUl, moisture or di-yness, healthiness or 
unhealthiness. 

Climate is chiefly dependent upon temperature, by which winds, and the 
amount of rain or snow are in a great measure determined. The purity of 
the atmosphere, or its mixture with noxious gases, the amount of electricity, 
and the clearness of the sky, are also important circumstances. 

According to the laws of temperature, (see page 41,) it is evident that if 
the earth had everywhere a level surface, of similar character, either of 
land or water, so as to absorb and radiate heat equally, the decrease of the 
mean annual temperature from the Equator to the Poles would be uniform. 

II. Numerous circumstances, however, disturb this uniformity, 
viz. : the irregular surface of the land, the vicinity of the sea, 
and the nature of the soil. 

III. The most important diversities in the surface of the land, 
affecting climate, are the elevation of a country above the gene- 
ral surface, the slope of the land, and the position of the moun- 
tains and plains. 

1. Elevation above the General Surface. — We have seen (page 42,) that the 
temperature of the atmosphere decreases according to the height above the 
level of the sea. This is owing to the fact that the air derives its heat 
chiefly from the warmed surface of the earth ; the heat which is so radiated 
diminishes with the distance from the general surface, so that places situated 
far above the level of the sea, receive but a sm.ill part of the warmth thus 
imparted. 

When, however, the elevated region is of great extent,_as in the case of 
table-lands, the country has a radiation of its own, which raises the temper- 
ature much higher than that of an isolated mountain chain. We have seen 
the effect of this circumstance in the snow-line of the Himalaya Mountains, 
where the heat imparted to the northern slope by the table-lands of Thibet, 
raises the limits of perpetual snow higher upon the northern than upon the 
southern side. 

For the same reason, the cities of Mexico, Quito, Popayan, and Bogota, 
situated on elevated plains, have a warmer climate than they would have 
at the same height, if on isolated mountains. 

It is obvious that countries which are at different elevations, though in 
the same latitude, must have diiferent climates ; and that in the same 
country there may be great diversity of climate, according to the elevation 
of the surface. Hence, while the tropical valley or plain is oppressively hot, 
and may be loaded with luxuriant vegetation, the tropical mountain, rising 
a few thousand feet above it, is as cold in its higher regions, and as bare of 
vegetation, as any Polar island. 

Thus, in Mexico, where there are low coasts, high table-lands, and moun- 
tains covered with perpetuJil snow, there are distinct and well-defined 
climatic districts: — 

1. Tierras Calientes. — The hot regions, including the country of the east 
and west shores below the height of 2000 feet, where bananas, sugar, indigo, 
and cotton flourish luxuriantly. Mean temperature, a,bout 77°. 

2. Tierras Templadas. — The temperate regions, between the heights of 
2000 and 5000 feet, where oaks, cypresses, tree ferns, and the grains of 
Europe and the United States are encountered. Mean temperature, from 
68° to 70°. 

What does the word Climate signify? — Upon what is climate chiefly dependent? — 
Slate some of the circumstances which disturb the uniformity of climate. — Name the 
most important diversities in the surface of the land affecting climate. — Give illustra- 
tions of the effect of elevation above the general surface. 



3. Tierras Frias. — The cold regions, from 5000 to 8000 feet high, beyond 
which limit the climate soon becomes rigorous, fruit will not ripen, wheat 
and oaks disappear, and pines occur. 

In Switzerland, the beautiful vegetation in the valleys and on the plains 
at the foot of the Alps, — the vineyards, orchards, forest-trees, and grains, — 
have for the most part disappeared at the height of 6500 feet. 

2. The Slope of the Land. — Where the land is so inclined that the rays of 
the sun fall directly upon it, the heat is greatly increased. A familiar example 
of this fact is afforded by the superior fertility of a field which lies upon the 
south side of a hill. The opposite sides of valleys or mountains often present 
striking contrasts in the character of the vegetation. 

3. The Position of its Mountains and Plains. — The articles on Winds and 
Rain exhibit the influence of wind in transferring the temperature and 
moisture of one region to another. Thus, the great plains of South America 
allow the moist winds from the Atlantic to sweep over the face of the country, 
softening the tropical heat, and imparting that character of humidity by 
which South America is distinguished. The Andes, however, by opposing 
the further progress of these winds, occasion the dryness and sterility which 
characterize a large part of the Pacific coast. 

The low plains in the northern regions of both continents allow full sweep 
for the cold winds from the Poles ; the southern shores of Europe are ex- 
posed to the winds which blow from the burning sands of Sahara; the 
southern peninsulas of Asia receive the warm winds from the Indian Ocean, 
while they are prevented from reaching Central Asia by the immense moun- 
tains and plateaus of that region. So, too, the Sierra Nevada cuts off the 
Great Basin of Utah from the south-west winds which bring warmth and 
moisture to the shores of California. 

A change in the position of these mountains and plains would produce a 
complete alteration in the climate of the various countries. Were the moun- 
tains of Asia removed to the shores of the Arctic Ocean, we should no longer 
see those striking contrasts which now exist, between the bleak and barren 
plateaus of the interior, and the tropical peninsulas on the southern margin. 
The abundant moisture and luxuriant vegetation of South America would 
be in a great degree lost by the transfer of the Andes to the Atlantic coast. 

IV. The vicinity of the sea is one of the most powerful influ- 
ences in determining the climate of a country. 

In the article on Temperature we have seen that those regions which are 
open to the influence of the ocean, partake of its moist and equable climate ; 
while those which are removed from this influence are commonly dry, and 
subject to great excesses of heat and cold. Thus, places which have the 
same mean annual amount of heat m.aj' difi'er greatly in the nature of their 
climate. 

Those regions which are near the sea may be said to have an oce<anio 
climate ; and those in the interior, a continental climate. Cool summers 
and mild winters are the conditions of the oceanic climates ;- while cold 
winters and hot summers characterize the continental. 

In countries lying far to the north, the continental climate has a great 
advantage over the oceanic. Nova Zembla has the same mean annual tem- 
perature as Yakoutsk ; nevertheless, this island is quite uninhabitable, and 
devoid of vegetation, on account of its cool summers : while at Yakoutsk, the 
hot, though short, summers ripen an abundant harvest of wheat and rye. 

Many other instances might be stated, to show that the most inhospitable 
places on earth are not those in which the mean temperature is the lowest, 
but those in which the summer does not supply warmth sufBcient for the 
growth of plants. 

V. The nature of the soil must not be disregarded in consi- 
dering the climate of a country. Barren sand is dry and hot, 
while marshy land, and ground covered with forests and rich 
vegetation, are cool and moist. 



Give an illustration of the effect of the slope of the land upon the climate of .a 
country. — What influence have the mountains and plains? — What do you understand 
by an Oceanic climate? — By a Continental climate? — Give examples of each of 
them. 



CLIMATE. 



"Any great abundance of water in a country, numerous lakes, swamps, 
marsh-lands, and extensive forests, in which the moisture of tlie air is re- 
tained, and gradually dissipated into the atmosphere by evaporation, exert, 
to some extent, the same influence as the sea, in mitigating the cold of 
winter, and in lowering in turn the heat of summer. By the draining of 
swamps, and the cutting down of forests, the escape of the water is hastened, 
and at the same time a greater extent of the ground is exposed to the imme- 
diate influence of the sun. This explains the gradual change in the climate 
of countries which have been inhabitc'd for thousands of years. Thus, there 
can be no doubt that Kgypt, if it were covered with forests, would have 
much more rain than it lias at present, and a much milder climate." — 
"P/ii/sks of the Earth," by Henry Buff. 

Mr. Bufi" confirms this opinion by stating that in Cairo and Alexandria, 
at the beginning of the present century, very little rain fell ; but that " since 
that time the Pasha has bad many millions of trees planted there, and 
now, it is stated that, in consequence of this, they have from thirty to forty 
rainy days in the year, and that in winter it often rains for five or six days 
together." 

" It seems too," says this writer, " that the climate of Germany was for- 
merly different, and more severe than at present. In the time of the 
Romans, Germany was covered with an almost unbroken forest. It 
abounded in swamps: its atmosphere was moist. Many plants, which 
require a high summer temperature, could not grow two thousand ye.ars ago 
in places where they are now thriving ; since the clearing of the forests has 
favored the draining off' of the water, and by the removal of the excess of 
moisture has improved the climate, and enhanced the fertility of the soil." 
In the time of the Romans, the reindeer and elk were numerous in Germany, 
though now confined to the more northern parts of Europe — an additional 
evidence of the former severity of the climate of Germany. 

Yet the complete removal of its forests, by diminishing the moisture of a 
country. Impairs its fertility. Some countries which formerly enjoyed a 
mild and genial climate, now suffer from drought, in consequence of the 
extirpation of the forests. It is, therefore, the duty of every State to make 
careful provision against their reckless destruction. 

VII. The healthiness of a country is closely connected with 
the nature of the soil. 

The sea-coast .and low-lands of tropical countries are often extremely un- 
healthy for Europeans. The excessive heat and moisture produce a luxu- 
riant vegetation, which decays and lies in a decomposed state upon the 
ground. The noxious gases thence arising, produce fevers which are so 
fntal to whites as to prove a barrier to the settlement of many extensive 
districts. 

The eastern and western coasts of Africa have such pestilential airs that 
any extensive settlement by whites seems impossible ; and this is one of the 
obstacles to European exploration in that country. The low lands on the 
Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea havs a character .almost as fatal. In 
building the Panama Railroad, the foreign laborers emplcjyed upon the work 
perished by hundreds. Yet the Pacific coast of Central America has a very 
agreeable and healthy climate. 

VII. Comparative views of the climate of the two continents : 

1. The Southern Hemisphere, from its greater proportion of water, has a 
more oceanic climate than the Northern. 

2. Africa and South America are much w.armer than North America, 
Asia, and Europe. 

3. The Eastern Continent, as a whole, is drier than the Western. 

4. South America has perhaps the most moist, and Africa the hottest, 
climate of all the Grand Divisions. 

.5. Of the three Northern Divisions, Asia has the most continental 
climate. 

(i. South America, owing to the influence of the sea, is much warmer than 
North America, in corresponding latitudes. 

What effect upon the climate of a country has the nature of its soil ? — What effect 
\q",u climate has the cutting down of the forests? — Give examples to illustrate the 
effects of the character of the soil upon the healthfulness of a country. 



7. The neighborhood of the Arctic regions is much colder in North Ame- 
rica than in Europe and Asia. 'I'he immense extent of ice which covers 
the numerous bays and inlets in the high latitudes of Nortli America, and 
which often remains through the entire summer, accounts for this rigorous 
climate. 

8. In the Northern Hemisphere, the eastern shores of both continents are 
colder and drier than the western. The superior warmth and moisture of 
Western Europe and the Pacific coast of North .Vmerica are owing to the 
prevalence of south-westerly winds, which blow warm and moist upon the 
western shores. The Gulf Stream and Japan Current contribute very much 
to the mild and genial character of the climate. 

VIII. Isothermal Lines. — To render the various irregularities 
of climate apparent to the eye, lines are drawn through all places 
which have nearly the same mean annual temperature. They 
are called isothermal lines (lines of C(jual heat). 

An examination of the map will show that, in the Northern Hemisphere, 
the deviations of these lines from the parallels are sometimes 20° of latitude. 

IX. The surfiice of the earth may be divided by the Isothermal 
lines into six Zones of climate, viz. : the Torrid, Hot, Warm, Tem- 
perate, Cold, and Frigid. 

1. The Torrid Zone.— Th\s Zone is bounded on both sides of the Isothermal 
Equator by the Isotherms of 80°. It comprises the hottest regions of the 
earth. Here are found the most luxuriant vegetation, the largest and most 
savage animals, .and the most dangerous reptiles. The climate is generally 
moist and unhealthy. 

2. The not Zone. -^Thxs region has many of the characteristics of the 
Torrid Zone, though it is marked by a greater variety; containing tracts of 
luxuriant vegetation and numerous extensive deserts. The climate is less 
humid and unhealthy, and man here attains a much liigher civilization than 
in the Torrid Zone. 

3. The Warm Zone includes the countries between the Isotherms of 70° 
and 60°. The climate of this favored region is such as to permit the growth 
of both tropical and temperate plants. 

4. The Temperate Zone. — This Zone comprises but a small portion of the 
Southern Hemisphere ; in the northern, however, it includes an extensive 
region. Though it does not exhibit the extraordinary size and vigor of ani- 
mals and plants which are found within the Tropics, the Temperate Zone is 
the region in which are produced the most Viiluable articles of food. The 
climate is cool and bracing, though subject to great extremes. In this and 
in the Warm Zone, man, in all ages, has attained his highest civilization. 

5. IVie Cold Zone is bounded on the north by the southern limit of per- 
petually frozen ground. This line corresponds generally to the northern 
limit of the cultivation of the bread plants. The winters here are very 
severe, though the summer days are often oppressively hot. 

G. The Frigid Zone of the Northern Hemisphere includes till the land 
north of the southern limit of perpetually frozen ground. In the south, the 
continuous heat of the short summers thaws the upper surface, ripens a few 
of the most hardy grains, and permits the growth of trees. In the dreary 
tracts to the north, the ground is perpetually covered with ice and snow, and 
the only vegetation to be seen is a few mosses and lichens which are some- 
times found in sheltered places. 

X. Recapitulation. — It thus appears that climate is not de- 
pendent entirely upon latitude, and, therefore that the ordinary 
method of representing the extent of the different Zones, by the 
Tropics and Polar Circles, does not convey a correct idea of the 
climate of the regions thus bounded ; and that Zones of climate 
are more correctly shown by Isothermal lines. 

Give comparative views of the climate of the two continents. — What are Isothermal 
lines? — Into how many Zones of climate mny the surface of the earth be divided? — 
Describe each of these Zones. — Recapitulate the subjects of this chapter. 




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ELECTRICAL AND OPTICAL TIIENOMENA. 



57 



CHAPTER VI 



ELECTRICAL AND OPTICAL PHENOMENA. 



I 




I. The subjects of this chapter are 
not usually treated in works upon 
Physical Geography ; yet, since they 
properly belong to the department of 
Meteorology, it will not be out of 
place to refer to them in this manual. 

II. Eleetrical Phenomena. — All 
we know of the nature of electricity 
is, that it is a mighty force, called, for 
the sake of convenience, a fluid. It 

appears to exist in every 
substance in nature, in 
both solid and fluid bodies, 
and may be roused from 
its repose by a variety of 
causes, such as friction, 
heat, and chemical action ; 
but we are totally igno- 
rant of the reason why 
these causes excite it. 
When thus roused, it be- 
comes visible, often dis- 
plays tremendous power, 
and sometimes produces 
the most destructive effects. There arc two kinds of electricity: 
the positive and the negative. 

Two bodies, charged with differpnt kinds of electi-ieity — one with positive, 
the other with negative — liave an attraction for each other. When two 
l)odies thus differently electrified are brought into each other's vicinity, if 
they are highly charged, the one imparts a portion of its electricity to the 
other, and receives from it in return an equal quantity of the opposite kind. 
This interchange is effected with immense rapidity, causing a flash and 
explosion. 

Tliere is a certain class of substances through which electricity passes 
with great facility: such as niet.als, water, trees, plants, and the human 
body. These are therefore stj'led conductors. Through other substances, as 
glass, silk, and the atmosphere, its passage is more difficult. The latter are 
called non-conductors. The atmosphere, especially when it is dry, is one of 
the most complete non-conductors known. 

III. Thunder and Lightning. — If two clouds, differently elec- 
trified, approach within a certain distance of each other, their 
electricity begins to accumulate on the sides nearest each other. 
When this accumulation has become sufficiently intense to over- 
come the resistance of the non-conducting atmosphere between, 
an interchange takes place ; in the flash and explosion which fol- 
lows, we have the phenomena of thunder and lightning. The 
same interchange frequently takes place between a cloud and the 
eartii, in which case the lightning passes upwards and downwards. 
Tluindi'r is caused by the violent displacement of the air produced by the 
passage of the lightning, and its rush brick again into the partial vacuum 
created. The lightning is perceived first, because sound travels slower than 
light. The louilest thunder can scarcely be heard at the distance of ten miles ; 
and is less intense, therefore, than the report from a piece of heav}' artillery. 

What do we know of Electricity ? — How many and what kinds of Electricity are 
tliere? — What do you understand by conductors ? — By non-cunductors ? — What is 
the cause of thunder and li';iitning? 



IV. There arc three kinds of lightning : tlie zig-zag, sheet, 
and globular. 

Tlie rapidity of the movement of a flash of lightning condenses the air 
iinmediately in advance of its path, so that great resistance is offered to its 
further progress in that direction ; hence the lightning darts from side to 
side. This is called zig-zag lightning. 

Sheet lightning, the most common form, is an expanded flash, illuminating 
whole clouds, 80 as distinctly to show their entire outline. 

Globular lightning, or b.alls of fire, have been often seen. Mr. Chalmers 
states that on Nov. 4th, 1749, on board the ship Montague, he observed a 
ball of blue fire, as largo as a mill-stone, ndling iilong on the surface of the 
water, at about three miles distance. When it had come within forty yards 
of the ship, the ball rose perpendicularl}', with a fearful explosion, and shat- 
tered the main top-mast to pieces. 

Heat lightning (lightning without thunder,) is to be attributed to the 
moist state of the air which favors its conductibility, occasioning very fre- 
quent but weak discharges. This lightning is sometimes attributed to the 
reflection of storms below the horizon. The color of lightning is orange, 
white, or blue. 

Lightning, in its course, follows the best conductors, attaching itself prin- 
cipally to metals, and after metals to damp substances ; but inferior con- 
ductors may be chosen which present to the fluid the most direct route to 
the earth. Hence, objects raised above the surface, whether good or bad 
conductors, are peculiarly exposed to the stroke of lightning: as church- 
steeples, bouses, trees, (especially solitary ones,) the masts of ships, animals 
in the midst of a plain, and men on high points of land. Other circumstances 
being equal, there is of course greater safety on a non-eonducting than on a 
good conducting surface. 

Some particular objects seem to be especially liable to strokes of light- 
ning. St. Mark's tower, at Venice, is an example. It has been struck nine 
times, and once entirely consumed ; but in 17G6 a lightning-conductor was 
put up, which has since protected it. 




'■■V 



l)r. Fi-anklin's Experiments with Electricity. 

V. Liqhtning Rods. — Dr. Franklin, who first discovered that 
lightning and electricity were the same, also invented the means 
of averting its destructive power. 

How many kinds of lightning are there? — What are their names? — What causes 
zif.jag lightning? — Sheet lightning? — Glolnilnr lightning ? — What is heal lightning? 
— AVho invented lightning-rods? 



58 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



Metallic rods are attached to the building, slightly projecting above it, 
and in direct eomnninication 'vrith the ground. As they offer an easier pas- 
sage to the fluid than is presented by the miiterials of the building, the 
lightning passes harmlessly to the earth. A good lightning-rod will protect 
a circle having a diameter of sixty feet. 

VI. The quantity of electricity in the atmosphere diminishes, 
like heat and light, from the Equator to the Poles. It increases 
with the distance from the surface of the earth. 

Hence, it is within the Tropics that thunder-storms are the most frequent 
and violent. The coast-line of Peru, however, where thunder and lightning 
never occur, is a remarkable exception. 

The thunder-storms become fewer and less violent as we recede from the 
Tropics, and, in some places in the Polar latitudes, are entirely unknown. 
At the Faroe Islands, thunder is seldom heard, and lightning is never 
known to do any injury. 

VII. There is a class of quite harmless phenomena caused by 
a strong degree of electricity. When the air is highly charged 
with electricity, as in storms of snow and rain, it sometimes be- 
comes visible in the form of pale-colored flames, quivering on the 
points of non-conductors or of insulated conductors. 

A phenomenon of this kind was witnessed by Mr. Henry Ware, of Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts. Returning home at 11 o'clock at night, across 
Cambridge bridge, his attention was attracted by a loud hissing noise 
from the lamp-posts. On raising his hand to the rim of his hat, he felt 
sharp pricks on his forehead, accompanied by discharges of electric sparks. 
On examining the lamp-posts, he saw electric sparks streaming from every 
point, to the distance of three or four inches. The sound was distinctly 
heard across the bridge, which is forty feet wide. It was snowing fast at 
the time. 





■'/X'fifMir'ii''- 

St. Elmo's Fire. 

Mariner's Light, or St. Elmo's Fire, often remarked by the ancients, is a 
phenomenon of this description, usually reckoned by sailors a fortunate 
omen. It was noticed during the voyages of Columbus and Magellan. 
M. Forbin thus describes its appear.ance, as observed by him in 1696: — 

Does the quantity of Electricity increase or decrease from the Equator to the Poles ? 
— Where do the most thunder-storms occur, at the Equator or in the Polar Latitudes? 
— Describe the Mariner's Light. — Wbiit is the cause of it? — Describe the Aurora 
Borealis. — What is the cause of this phenomenon? 



" The sky was suddenly covered with thick clouds. Fearing a gale, I had 
all the sails reefed. There were more than thirty St. Elmo's Fires on the 
ship; one of them occupied the vane of the mainmast, and was about nine- 
teen inches long. I sent a sailor to fetch it. When he was aloft, he heard 
a noise like that which is made when moist gunpowder is burned. I ordered 
him to take off the vane; he had scarcely executed this order, when the fire 
quitted it, and placed itself at the top of the mainmast, whence it could not 
possibly be removed." 

Admiral Smyth describes one observed by him in 1807, while on board 
the frigate Cornwallis, in the Bay of Panama, of such brilliancy "that they 
could see each other's faces on deck." 

VIII. The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Light, is a flickering 
light of varying intensity, seen at night streaming up from the 
north towards the zenith, often illuminating the whole northern 
heavens with brilliant, variously-colored shooting flames. 

This phenomenon is doubtless owing to atmospheric electricity, which, at 
great heights, becomes luminous. During the occurrence of an Aurora, 
electrical action upon the wires of the telegraph has been observed. 

The Northern Lights, to us merely an object of curiosity and fascination, 
are of great practical utility to the natives of high latitudes, relieving their 
dreary winter night, and compensating for the long absence of the sun. 

IX. Optical Phenomena are those singular appearances which 
are sometimes produced by Light in its passage through the 
atmosphere. Optics is the science of light and vision. 

Sir Isaac Newton discovered that light is a compound of several different 
colors. He admitted a sunbeam into a dark chamber, through a hole in the 
shutter, in which he inserted a prism (a three-sided solid piece of glass) ; 
the light which shone through this glass consisted of seven different colors. 
Sir David Brewster has since proved the seven colors to result from three 
primary rays : the red, the yellow, and the blue. 

That endless variety and combination of tints displayed by the skj, the 
flowers of the fields, the rich hues of the autumnal woods, and the gorgeous 
plumage of tropical birds — in short, the colors of all objects, arise from 
their varying capacity of absorbing or reflecting certain rays. The reflec- 
tion of all the rays causes white, and the absorption of all produces black. 

X. Optical phenomena are due to the reflection of light, to its 
separation into the primary colors, and to its refraction. 

The refraction (jf the rays of light is the bending or distortion from a 
straight line, which they undergo in passing through a dense medium — as 
in water, or when the sun is near the horizon. 

XL The Bainhow. — When vapor has been condensed into 
fluid drops of water, and the spectator has liis face to the showery 
cloud, with the sun shining at his back, he sees the glorious vision 
of the Rainbow. A ray of light, on entering a rain-drop, is sepa- 
rated into its primitive colors, as if by a prism, and is then 
reflected from the rear side of the drop. 

When the rain is copious, and the sun is shining brightly, a second bow 
appears outside of the first, but fainter, and with the order of the colors 
inverted. This secondary 'oow is produced by reflection from the first. The 
spray of a cataract, and the shower of an artificial fountain, often exhibit 
the phenomenon of the rainbow. 

When the sun is near the horizon, the bow forms a perfect semi-circle to 
an observer on the plain ; but the gi^eater the height of the sun above the 
horizon, the sm.aller is the proportion of a circle presented by the rainbow. 
In our latitude, po rainbow is visible during the middle of the day in 
summer. 

Lunar rainbows are sometimes seen, though they are of rare occurrence, 
on account of the feebleness of the moon's light. They fvre commonly white, 
or of a yellowish hue. 

Where are the Northern Lights most brilliant? — What are Optical Phenomena? — 
What was Sir Isaac Newton's discovery with reference to Light? — What did Sir David 
Brewster prove? — To what are Optical Phenomena due? — What do you understand by 
the refraction of light? — How is the Rainbow formed? — What is a Lunar Kainbow? 



ELECTRICAL AND OPTICAL PHENOMENA. 



59 



XII. JLiIos, Coronse, or Glories, are colored circles sometimes 
seen around the .sun and moon. They are owing to the inflection 
or bending of the rays of light by the globules of vapor with 
which the atmosphere is charged. When these circles are small 
and clearly marked, it is because the atmosphere is overcharged 
with moisture ; hence, there is truth in the common remark, that 
"a dense halo portends rain." 

XIII. Mock-suns [Parhelia,) and Mock-moons [Paraselcnx,) 
are quite common in the Arctic regions, where minute crystals 
of ice and snow float in the air, and reflect the image of tlie sun 
and moon. Captain Parry, during his winter sojourn at Melville 
Island, saw one that continued from noon till six o'clock in the 
evening. 

XIV. In certani conditions of the atmosphere, strange illu- 
sions occur with regard to objects upon the surface of the earth. 

The mirage (delusive appearance of water,) common in the plains of Asia 
and Africa, on the edge of the horizon, is a well-known instance. When 
the weather is calm, and the ground is highly heated, the landscape at a 
distance assumes the appearance of a pure transparent lake. So perfect is 
the illusion, that the traveller, oppressed with heat and thirst, is deceived 
into the hope of speedy refreshment. 

"On one occasion," says Admiral Smyth, in his work upon the Mediter- 
ranean Sea, " the illusion which I witnessed was so perfect, that it was with 
difBculty I could persuade my companion, whose extreme thirst made him 
long to reach the water, that the supposed lake was receding from us as we 
advanced ; until our amused Ar.ab guides pointed to another SarAb formed 
in the space over which we had ridden." 

Siirdb (vapor of the desert,) is the Arabic term for what we call mirage. 
With the Arabians it is a common emblem of deceit. Mahomet says : " The 
actions of the unbelievers are like the Sarah of tlie plain ; he who is thirsty 
takes it fnr water, and finds it to be nothing." 

This phenomenon is caused by the different density of the layers of air 
near the ground, by which the rays of the sun are unequally refracted. 
When the sun has heated the sandy plains, and, by radiation, the air above 
them, the clear blue sky is reflected, and appears like an extensive sheet of 
water, in which the eminences and objects around seem inverted. 

XV. The most remarkable effect of irregular refraction re- 
corded, is the celebrated Fata Morgana of the Straits of Messina. 

It is said to occur in calm, sultry weather, when the tides are at their 
highest. At such times, multiplied im.ages of all the objects existing on the 
two lines of coast — as castles, arches, towers, houses, trees, animals, and 
mountains — are presented in the air with wonderful precision and magni- 
ficence. 

XVI. Strange figures in the air, which were once regarded as 
real supernatural beings, are produced by natural objects, en- 
larged and distorted by peculiar reflection. The vision of troops 
of horses and armies, marching and counter-marching in cloud- 
land, has been caused by some animals pasturing on an opposite 
height, or travellers quietly pursuing their journey. 

As two travellers were standing on the summit of Ben Lomond, in Scot- 
land, watching the sun set in the west, the attention of one of the party was 
arrested by the appearance of two gigantic figures pictured on a cloud in the 
east, apparently stiinding on an enormous pedestal. He pointed out the 
phenomenon to his companion, and immediately one of the figures was 
observed to strike the other on the shoulder, and point towards them. They 
waved their hats, and the shadovTy figures made a similar movement, faith- 
fully imitating every gesture. The spectacle continued about a quarter 
of an hour. 

What are Hnlos ? — By what other names are they known ? — Where are Mock-suns 
and Mock-moons most common ? — What is understood hy Mirage ? — Repeat Admiral 
Smyth's description of the delusion. — What is the Arabic term for Mirage? 



XVII. When the state of the air is favorable to extraordinary 
refraction, the distance to which the spectator may see is greatly 
enlarged, and objects are magnified as if seen through a telescope. 

Mountains, unseen before, are bmught within the range of visibility ; and 
low coasts assume a bold and precipitous outline. The chain of the Hima- 
laya has been transiently beheld from a point in the plains of Bengal, fnini 
which it had never been seen before. 

XVIII. In the Polar regions, it is very common for extraor- 
dinary and unequal refraction to play fantastic tricks with ter- 
restrial objects. 

Captain Scoresby gives the following details: — ".June 19, IS22, the sun 
was very hot, and the coast suddenly appeared to come fourteen or eighteen 
miles nearer. Above distant ships their own image was seen inverted and 
magnified ; in some cases, it was very high above the ship, and then it was 
always smaller than the original. The image of a ship thatw.as it.self below 
the horizon, was seen for several minutes. A ship was even surmounted by 
two ships, one in the right position, the other inverted. Some days later, 
the most curious phenomenon was to see the inverted and perfectly distinct 
image of a ship that was below our horizon. We had before observed similar 
appearances; but the peculiarity of this was the distinctness of the image, 
and the great distance of the ship it represented. Its outline was so well 
marked, that on looking at this image through a telescope, I distinguished 
the details of the rigging, and recognised it as my father's ship. When we 
afterwards compared our log-books, we saw that we were then thirty miles 
apart, far beyond the limits of distinct vision." 




Ignis Fntuus. 

XIX. The Ignis Fatuus, or Will-o'-the-wisp, is a wandering 
meteor, peculiar to places where putrefaction and decomposition 
are going on. It appears in battle-fields and marsh lands, with 
a flickering, unsteady motion, a few feet above the ground, and 
speedily vanishing. It is thought to be caused by gases arising 
from decayed animal or vegetable matter. 



Describe the Fata Morgana. — Give illustrations of the effect of Mirage in various 
parts of the world. — Repeat Captain Scoresby's description of the spectacle seen by 
him in the Polar regions. — What is the Ignis Fatuus? — By what is -t caused? 



PART IV. 



RGANIC LIFE. 




Organic Life is that department of Physical Geography which treats of vegetable and animal life. The subject may be 
considered under the three general divisions of Botanical Geography, Zoological Geography, and Ethnography. 

Plants and animals exist in the bosom of the ocean as well as on land. They live in the extremes of heat and cold, in the 
Polar and Equatorial regions. They occupy the summits of the loftiest mountains, and the dark vaults of caverns, far below the 
surface of the earth. No part of the globe is known to be entirely destitute of animal and vegetable life. 



species; while in Jamaica there are about four thousand. The number 
also decreases from the level of the sea upwards. 

II. Vegetable forms are divided into two great classes : the 
Cryptogamous (flowerless) plants, and the Plicenogamous (flower- 
ing) plants. 

The plants which have no flowers, properly so called, comprise the mosses, 
lichens, fungi, ferns, and sea-weeds. 

The Phoenoganious plants comprise two divisions : the Endogenous (in- 
creasing from within), and Exogen.ous (increasing from without). Endoge- 
nous plants have stems increasing from within, as the numerous grasses, 
lilies, and the palm family. Indian corn and the sugar-cane are Endoge- 
' nous plants. E.xogenous plants increase by coatings from without, as trees, 
I where the growth of each year forms a circle of wood around the pith or 

Under what three divisions may the subject of Organic Life be considered? — Of what Into what two great classes are vegetable forms divided? — What are Cryptogamous 
does Botanical Geography treat? — What is the entire known number of plants ? plants? — Phcenogamous plants? — How are the latter divided ? — Describe each of them. 

(60) 



CHAPTER I. 
BOTANICAL GEOGRAPHY. 

I. Botanical Geography treats of the different divisions of 
the vegetable kingdom, and their geographical distribution. 

The entire number of different species of plants known to botanists 
exceeds one hundred thousand ; and as large regions of the earth have not 
yet been explored, the whole number upon the globe is undoubtedly much 
greater. 

The number of species decreases from the Equator towards the Poles. 
Thus, in Spitzbergen, the botanists compute that there are not above thirty 



BOTANICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



61 



centre of tlie stem. Tliis class is the most perfect in its orj;i\iii7,atii)n, aiul 
by far tlie most numerous — including the trees of the forest, and most floiv- 
ering shrubs and herbs. 

III. The E.xogens furnish examples of gigantic size and great 
age. The Adansonia, or Baobab, of Senegal, Africa, though 
attaining no great height, rarely more than filly feet, has a trunk 
sometimes thirty-four feet in diameter. The mammoth trees of 
California, eighty or ninety in number, occupy a solitary district 
containing an area of about 200 acres. Some of them are more 
than 300 feet in height, and 100 feet in circumference. Twenty- 
one feet of the bark from the lower part of the trunk of one of 
these huge trees, was arranged in its natural form in San Fran- 
cisco for e.xhibition. It formed a spacious room in which was 
placed a piano, and seats for forty persons. 



Sm ..^^: 




The B.inian Tree. 

The Banian Tree of India sends out shoots from its horizontal branches, 
which, reaching the ground, take root and form new stems, till a single tree 
multiplies almost to a forest. A Banian tree, near the River Nerbuddah in 
India, is described as covering an area 2000 feet in circumference. It hiig 
350 large and more than 3000 small stems, and an army of 7000 men has 
rested beneath its shade. 

M. Adanson eatimatcd the age of the Baobab which he saw in Senegal, 
to be 5150 years. One of the mammoth trees of California, above described, 
is supposed to be over 2000 years old. A Yew tree at Fountain's Abbey, 
Yorkshire, England, is known to be more than 700 years old; its existence 
in 1133 being an histurical fact. 

IV. Vegetation is most luxuriant in tropical countries. There 
an abundance of moisture combines with light and heat to pro- 
duce trees of an enormous size, flowers of the most brilliant colors, 
and climbing plants in great number and variety ; all of which 
combined present so dense a mass of vegetation as to be almost 
impenetrable, even to the explorer who advances with axe in hand. 



The Fan Palm, an East India species, has leaves in the form of an 
umbrella, eighteen feet across. Humboldt describes a plant growing on the 
banks of the River Magdalena, the helmet-shaped flowers of which are of 
such dimensions as to serve the children for hats. The magnificent lily, 
Victoria llef/la, a native of Guiana, and successfully cultivated in hot-houses 
in the United States, has leaves fnmi five to six feet, and a flower fifteen 
inches in diameter. These are specimens of the vegetation of the Torrid Zone. 

V. Proceeding from the Equator, tropical plants disappear, 
and new forms of vegetation mark the change from a hot to a 
temperate climate. Bright green meadows, abounding wth 
tender herbs, succeed to the tall rigid grasses which form the im- 
penetrable jungle. Instead of the towering ever-green forests, 
trees which cast their leaves in winter, as the oak, maple, and 
beech, appear. Here the cereal grains and the vine come to 
their highest perfection. 

The vine is less aflectcd by a cold winter than by a cool summer. In 
Europe, the northern limit of its successful cultivation on the west coast of 
France is Latitude 47° 30'; but in Germany, where the summers are warm, 
and the winters colder than on the coast of France, it is cultivated as far 
north as Lat. 52° 30'. In the United States, the southern limit of its suc- 
cessful cultivation is Lat. 32°; the northern, on the Atlantic coast, Lat. 42°; 
on the P.acifie, Lat. 46°. 

VI. Receding further from the E(iuator, magnificent forests 
of the fir and pine tribe prevail : as in Canada, the northern part 
of the United States, Central Russia, and the countries bordering 
on the southern shores of the Baltic. Some of the grains cannot 
be cultivated there, and several trees common to the Temperate 
Zone are no longer found. Gradually, as higher latitudes are 
approached, the trees dwindle to mere dwarfs, and finally all 
wooded vegetation disappears. 




Give illustrntions of the size and age of some Exogenous plants. — Describe the 
vegetation of tropical countries. — Give examples of the vegetation of tropical coun- 
tries. 



A I'ine Forest. 

The northern limit of the forests is a line running along the extreme north 
of the Eastern Continent, and extending in the Western, from Hudson's Bay, 

What change occurs in vegetation proceeding from the Equator? — State the limits 

of the cuUiv.ition of the vine. — What ch.mge is noticed in the veget;ition receding fur- 
ther from the Equator ? 



62 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



Lat. 60°, to Behring's Strait, crossing the Mackenzie River at Lat 68°. The 
dwarf birch, a mere bush, is the last tree found on drawing near the eternal 
snow of the North Pole. Near Hammerfest, Lat. 70° 40', the most northern 
town in Europe, it grows in sheltered hollows between the mountains, to 
about the height of a man ; and its branches, trailing on the ground, form a 
shelter for the ptarmigan, a bird of the grouse family, which inhabits the 
most northern districts. 

VII. In the Polar Zones, some low flowering annuals, as saxi- 
frages, gentians, and chick-weeds, flourish during the brief but 
hot summer ; a few perennials, never rising higher than four or 
five inches from the ground, also accommodate themselves to this 
rigorous climate. At last, no development of vegetable life is 
seen, except lichens and the microscopic forms that cover the snow. 

The extreme northern regions of America produce a species of lichen, to 
which the name of iripe de roclie has been given. This lichen is much 
esteemed by the Canadian hunters and voyageurs as an article of food. 
Various species of fungi, which are highly injurious, if not absolutely poi- 
sonous, in temperate regions, appear to lose their pernicious qualities in 
cold climates, where they are even eagerly sought as articles of food. 

VIII. Thus distinct vegetable regions are observed from the 
Equator to the Poles, defined by the Isothermal lines, and not 
by the parallels of Latitude. Similar changes mark the ascent 
above the level of the sea, the height of the elevation correspond- 
ing to distance from the Equator, in its efiects upon vegetation. 

This change of vegetation is most strikingly exhibited by isolated moun- 
tains. The Peak of Teneriffe, Lat. 28°, is an example. This mountain is 
divided_by Von Buch into five botanical districts : — 

1. Theregion from the level of the sea to a height of V2.i9i feet. — Here Palm 
trees, the sugar-cane, the banana, and other plants similar to those of the 
fertile level districts of the same latitude in Africa, are found. 

2. Tlie region from the height of 1248 to 2748 feet. — Here grow the vine, 
wheat, olive, and the fruit trees of Europe. 

3. From 2748 to iZ^Ofeet. — This is known as the region of laurels. Many 
evergreens and a species of oak characterize its vegetation.. 

4. From 4350 to (>2'I0 feet. — This is the region of pines. The vegetation 
is similar to that of the regions near the northern limit of trees. 

5. From 6270 to 11,061 feet. — Here are found a species of broom, and some 
low flowering plants, which furnish food to the goats that run wild on the 
mountain. Above this elevation there are only a few lichens and mosses, 
and tlie summit is entirely destitute of vegetation. 

IX. All plants appear to have been created in certain specific 
localities ; from which they have been diffused by the action of 
nature, or transported by man to regions remote from their 
original station. 

Some plants appear to be confined to their original locality, which is often 
a very limited area. Thus, the Cedar of Lebanon, of sacred fame, appears 
to be restricted in its growth to the mountains of Syria. The beautiful 
flower, IHsa Ch-andiflora, is limited to a spot on the Table Mountain, in 
South Africa. A species of Marjorum was discovered in 1700, on a rock in 
the little island of Amorgo, one of the Grecian Archipelago. It was observed 
eighty years afterwards on the same rock, but has never been found elsewhere. 

Some plants are confined entirely to one continent. Thus, there are 
upwards of 300 species of heath spread over the Eastern Continent, from the 
Cape of Good Hope to a high northern latitude ; while the Western does not 
produce a single native specimen. The New World contains many families, 
the Cactus, for example, which are not found in nature in the Old. 

The principal natural agents in the diffusion of plants are the winds, the 
currents of the ocean, rivers, and many animals. Seed? are borne by these 
agents from their natural locality to other sections of the globe, where the 
plant takes root, and becomes established in regions sometimes thousands 
of miles fram its native home. 

What is the northern limit of forests ? — State the character of the vegetation of the 
Polar Zones. — What changes mark the ascent above the level of the sea? — What are 
the principal natural agents in the diffusion of plants? 



X. Providence has so endowed those plants which are of most 
value to man as articles of food or of luxury, that their cultiva- 
tion in various climates and on difi'erent soils may be widely ex- 
tended. Such plants have been transported by man to regions 
very distant from those in which they were originally found. 

Wheat, rye, oats, and rice were brought from the Old World to the 
New. Most of the finer fruit trees, as the apple, pear, peach, fig, cherry, 
and orange, were introduced into Europe from Western Asia by the Romans, 
whence they have been brought to the United States. A variety of the 
plum (the damson or damascene,) was obtained from the vicinity of Damas- 
cus. The name of the damask rose indicates the importation of that beautiful 
flower from the same quarter. 

In return for these gifts, the New World has supplied the Old with tobacco, 
Indian corn, and the potato ; the two latter of which now furnish sustenance 
to many millions of human beings. 

XL The principal food-plants of the Torrid and Hot Zones 
are Rice, Bananas, Bread-fruit, Dates, Cocoa-nuts, Yams, Cas- 
sava, and Sago. 

1. Rice is the chief food of perhaps one-third of the human race; and 
requiring for its successful cultivation a considerable amount of heat and 
abundance of moisture, is principally produced within the Tropics. It is 
extensively cultivated, however, in countries beyond the Tropics. Its native 
country is unknown, but was probably Southern Asia. It was introduced 
into America by Columbus in 1493. In such estimation is this grain held in 
Asiatic countries, that on some of the natives of India being told none was 
produced in Great Britain, they spoke of the inhabitants as objects of pity, 
wondering how they could possibly exist without rice. 




Banana Trees. 

2. Bananas and Plantains are now cultivated in the tropical regions of 
both hemispheres. There are many varieties of these plants, requiring 
difi'erent degrees of temperature for ripening their fruit. Humboldt esti- 
mated that a given space of ground, planted with the banana, would yield 
one hundred and thirty-three times as much nutritive substance as a similar 
extent of wheat. 

With what peculiar properties has Providence endowed most food-plants? — Give illus- 
trations of the diffusion of some of these plants. — Which are the principal food-plants 
of the Torrid and Hot Zones? — A^'here is Rice grown? — Bananas? 



BOTANICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



63 



3. The Bread-fruit tree grows to the height of forty feet. It has leaves 
resembling those of the fig, ami bears large fruit, which, when cooked, is 
said to taste like wheaten bread. This tree yields fresh fruit for eight or nine 
months in the year, and during the rest of the time, the fruit is prepared like 
dough, and bread baked from it is eaten. It is estimated that three trees are 
.sufficient to feed one human being. This tree does not appear to thrive 
beyond the Tropics, nor where there is a difference of more than 10° or 12° 
between the temperature of the summer and the winter. 




The Date-Palm Tree. 

4. Dates. — The fruit of the Date-palm is the most important article of food 
in most parts of Northern Africa. The tree is a native of this region, and 
LTows in such abundance between the Atlas range and the Great Desert, 
that the Arabs name the country Beled-el-Jerid (land of dates). Dates are 
cultivated to some extent in the Warm Zone of Southern Europe and South- 
western Asia, though they are principally produced in the Hot Zone. 

5. Cocoa Kuts. — The Cocoa-nut palm, which produces this well-known 
fruit, is abundant in the Wast Indies and the tropical islands of the Indian 
and Pacific Oceans. The trunk of this tree furnishes wood ; the fruit yields 
the kernel, oil, and milk; the shell is used for household utensils; cloth is 
manufu;ture<l from the fibres which surround the shell ; and houses are 
thatched with the leaves. Both the date and cocoa-nut palm occur in Florida ; 
neither of them, however, bearing fruit. 

C. Yams. — These roots resemble the potato, and arc cultivated in a similar 
manner. They are sometimes of immense size, growing to the length of 
two or three feet, and often weighing thirty pounds. They are much used 
fur food in Aft'ica, and in the fjast and West Indies. 

7. Cassava. — The meal prepared by washing and bruising the root of the 
Mandioe, a shrub which grows in Brazil, Congo, and Guinea, is called Cas- 
sava, and is much used in those countries for food. In its natural state 
this plant is poisonous, but its deleterious qualities disappear with heat. 
Tapioca is prepared from Cassava. 

8. Sago is the pith of several species of palm trees, which form entire 
r.irests in many of the Spice Islands. The ease with which the natives may 
!-uiiply themselves with food, where Sago grows wild in the woods, is thus 
stated in Schouw's "Earth, Plants, and Man": — "When the native has 

Where does the Bread-fruit tree grow? — Describe it. — AVhat name is given to the 
country soiitii of the Atlas Mountains? — Why ?— State the u.ses to which the Cocoa-nut 
tree is applied? — What are Yams ?— What is Cassava?— Reneat Schouw's statement. 



satisfied himself, by boring a hole in the trunk, that the pith is ripe, the 
trunk is cut down and divided into several pieces; the pith is scraped out, 
mixed with water, and strained — and there is Sago-nmal perfectly ready 
for use. A tree commonly yields >'iOO pounds, and may afford 500 or GOD 
pounds. Thus, a man goes into the woods and cuts his bread, as we hew 
our firewood." 

XII. The principal food-plants of tlie Warm and Temperate 
Zones are Wheat, Rye, Oats, Barley, and Potatoes. Indian 
Corn is an important bread-plant of these Zones, but is also cul- 
tivated in tropical regions. 

1. Wheat is cultivated throughout the greater part of the Warm and Tem- 
perate Zones. AVe have no certain knowledge of its native country, but it 
is generally supposed to have been Tartary or Persia. The first wheat sown 
in North America consisted of a few grains accidentally found by a slave 
of Cortez, among the rice taken for the support of the army. 

2. Rye, Barley, and Oats have a further northern limit, and endure a more 
rigorous climate than wheat. Barley is found as far north in Lapland as 
Lat. 70°. Oats was formerly the principal grain of Northern Europe. At 
a later period, rye displaced it. Now, wheat is rapidly taking the place of 
rye ; and wheaten bread, formerly regarded as a luxury, and seen only upon 
the tables of the rich, is a common article of food for other classes. 

3. Potatoes. — The potato is supposed to be a native plant of Peru and 
Chili, where it still exists in a wild state. Its culture now extends, accord- 
ing to Humboldt, from the extremity of Africa to Lapland. In the Hot and 
Torrid Zones, however, like other plants peculiar to the temperate regions, 
it is only found at an elevation where the climate corresponds with that of 
the Temperate Zones. It has a more northern limit th.in barley, being 
cultivated in Iceland, where no grains are grown. 

4. Indian Corn (also called Maize,) is principally cultivated in the Tem- 
perate and Warm Zones, but it is grown in the tropical regions. Like 
the potato, it is a native plant of America; and, like that also, it has been 
widely diffused throughout the different parts of the earth. In South Ame- 
rica it was grown, though witli great difficulty, around the Inca's Temple 
of the Sun, on an island in Lake Titicaca, 12,795 feet above the level of the 
sea, to furnish a sacrifice to the Sun-god, and that the corn grown there 
might be distributed throughout the nation ; a single kernel raised near the 
temple being regarded as a noble and fortune-bringing object. 

XIII. The climate of some large tracts of land upon the globe 
is such that no bread-plants can be cultivated. In these coun- 
tries, bread must be obtained from more favored lands, or animal 
food substituted. Thus, dried fish forms the chief substitute for 
bread among the inhabitants of the northern parts of Siberia 
and America. 

If we imagine a line drawn, separating these regions from the bread 
countries, it may be called the "Bread lini." It is represented on the map 
(page 04), and corresponds very nearly with the Isotherm of 32°. 

Labrador, Iceland, and Greenland, have no bread-plants ; and in the Faroe 
Islands there is only an inconsiderable cultivation of barley. 

XIV. In some of the bread countries, where the population is 
dense, the failure of the crop of a particular plant is the cause 
of famine. Thus, in India, a scanty rice crop is the occasion of 
great distress, and its failure causes universal famine. The 
failure of the potato crop in Ireland, in 1847, caused a frightful 
destruction of human life. 

In many of the bread countries, where the soil is fertile, the climate 
favorable, and the population comparatively sparse, a large surplus of grain is 
collected, which is sent to regions less favored in this respect, and containing 
a more dense population. Thus, China receives rice from India ; the United 
States exports wheat, corn, and rice to Europe and South America ; and the 
countries upon the Baltic and Black Seas send wheat to Norway, Great 
Britain, and France. 

Name the principal food-plants of the Warm and Temperate Zones ?— Where is Wheat 
cultivated ?— Rye, Barley, and Oats ?— Of what country is the Potato a native ?— Indian 
Corn?— What is substituted for bread in Siberia ?— What countries export breadstuffs? 



64 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



60 



40 



20 



20 - 



40 



M 



^160 140 120 100 



80 



60 



— -t 1 1 

Longitude West from Greenwich 



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XV. The plants of most value to inan, as furnishing mate- 
rials for clothing, are Cotton, Hemp, and Flax. 

1. Cotton. — India is probably the native country of the cotton plant, 
though it is now most extensively cultivated in the southern part of the 
United States. It has been grown to some extent in Southern Europe, and 
is an important article of culture in tropical South America, the West Indies, 
Mexico, Egypt, and Southern Asia. The value of the cotton exported from 
the United Stales for the year ending June 30, 1851, was one hundred and 
tvrelve millions of dollars. 

2. Hemp and F/ax are productions of the Temperate Zone, and are exten- 
sively cultivated in the United States, Great Britain, the countries south of 
the Baltic, and on the great plains of Russia. 



Whatplantsareof most value toman for clothing?— Where is Cotton most cultivated? 
-What was the value of that exported in 1851?— Where are Hemp and Fln.\ cultivated? 



XVI. The Tea plant. Sugar-cane, Coffee, and Cocoa trees are 
principally cultivated in the Hot Zone. 

I. Tea. — The tea shrub is an evergreen plant, indigenous in China and 
Upper Assam. It is cultivated to some extent in other parts of the world, 
but the tea used in this country is all brought from China. If left to 
itself, the tea plant may attain a height often or twelve feet; but in cultiva- 
tion, it grows generally only five or six feet. Its leaves may be used after 
the third year of its growth ; but in order to secure a good crop, the plant 
is usually replaced at the end of the seventh year. The limit of its profitable 
cultivation in China may be considered the parallel of 25° on the south, 33° 
on the north, and Thibet on the west. Tea was first introduced into England 
about the year 1660. In 1664, the East India Company presented the King 

What Zone produces Tea, Sugnr. Coffee, and Cocoa ? — In what countries is Tea indi- 
genous ? — State the limits of its successful cultivation in China. 



BOTANICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



65 



of England, Cliarlcs II., with two pounds of tea ; and in 10G7, a sliip received 
orders to bring home 100 pounds. The value of the tea imported into the 
United States for the year ending June 30, 18.')4, was nearly seven millions 
of dollars. 

In China and -Japan, tea, in the truest sense of the word, is a national 
beverage, and has been so for at least a thousand years. It is used by all, 
from the Kmperor to the common people, taken without sugar or milk, at all 
meals, and at all hours of the day. 

Male, or Paraguay tea, is the dried leaf of an evergreen tree which grows 
in great abundance in the dense forests of the northern and eastern pro- 
vinces of Paraguay. It is extensively used in the southern and eastern 
countries of South America. 



Vi. 



X'^' 




A Sugar Plantation. 

2. Siif/ar Cane is grown beyond the limits of the Torrid Zone, though it is 
properly a tropical jdant. It is cultivated most extensively in the Southern 
United States, the West Indies, Brazil, Mauritius, Bourbon, the Sunda and 
Philippine Islands, and British India. The plant was found wild in several 
parts of America, and also in many of the islands of the Pacific Ocean. 
Sugar has been known in India from very early times ; but it was used by 
the Greeks and Romans only as a medicine, and esteemed a great rarity. 

3. Coffee. — The coffee tree is a native of the highlands of Southern Abys- 
sinia, whence it was taken to Southern Arabia in the fifteenth century. It 
has been introduced, and is now extensively cultivated in Brazil, .Java, 
Ceylon, the West Indies, and other tropical regions. It may be raised 
as for north as latitude 30°, where the mean temperature is about 70°. In 
Arabia and Java, where the best coffee is produced, the plant is a tree fifteen 
or twenty feet in height; in the West Indies, it is cut down from the top 
that it may spread and bear more fruit. It is an evergreen tree, and when 
in blossom, its white and sweetrscented flowers resemble a plant covered 
with snow. 

The use of coffee became general in Egypt about the time of the discovery 
of America by Columbus. In 1511, the Governor of Mecca prohibited it, 
on the ground that it was injurious to health : but his decision was over- 
ruled by the Sultan at Cairo, who was himself a coffee-drinker. Twenty 
years after, a zealot of Cairo preached against eoffee-drinking, and so vio- 
lently enraged his hearers, that they collected in a mob, and destroyed the 
coffee-houses. So serious, indeed, became the excitement, that the Chief 
•Judge called together the wise men of the city, who deciding that it was 
both allowable and useful, it was again established in public favor. It 
was first introduced into England in 1652. The first coffee-house in Paris 
was established in 1072. 

4. Cocoa. — The eocoa tree is a native of America, but has been transported 
to other parts of the world, and is now successfully cultivated in Tropical 
America, India, Japan, and the islands of the Indian Ocean. Chocolate is 
prepared from Cocoa. 

What is M.ite ? — Where is it used? . — Where is Sugar-cane principally cultivated? — ■ 
Wlicre is Coffee grown ?^What is said of its historj? — Where is Cocoa cultivated? 

y 



X^'1I. The spices in common use in the various countries of 
the globe, as Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmegs, and Vanilla, 
art' principally produced in the Torrid Zone. 

1 . Itpper. — The pepper plant is a climbing shrub, producing reddish-brown 
berries, each of which contains one seed. These berries, dried, constitute 
the black pepper of commerce. They are usually gathered twice a year, 
commencing with the third year of the growth of the shrub, and continuing 
till about the twentieth year, when the plant becomes useless. The shrub 
was found wild on the Malabar coast of Ilindoostan, and is cultivated there, 
in Sumatra, Siam, and Malacca. 

Cayenne pepper is principally produced in Guiana, in South America, but 
it is also cultivated in the tropical regions of the Eastern Continent. 

2. Cinnamon. — The cinnamon of commerce is the inner bark of a tree, 
growing chiefly in Ceylon, of which island it is probably a native. 

3. Cloves. — Cloves are the dried buds of a small evergreen tree, thirty or 
forty feet high, which is cultivated almost exclusively on the little island of 
Amboyn.a, one of the Spice Islands. 

4. Xtt/me//s are the seeds of a tree thirty feet high, now grown chiefly on 
the Banda Islands. The covering of the nutmeg is the mace of commerce. 

5. Vanilla. — This well-known aromatic is produced in Mexico, Central 
America, and Brazil. 

XVIII. The principal narcotics used in different parts of the 
earth are Tobacco, Opium, and the Betel. 

1. Tobacco was found by the Spaniards in America when they landed. 
It was introduced into Europe in \r>5',), by being transported to Lisbon as a 
medicinal herb. Through Sir Walter Kaleigh, (who brought it to England 
in 1586,) and other young men of fashion, the custom of smoking spread 
rapidly through England, Holland, Spain, France, and Italy, to Turkey, 
Persia, India, and even to China and Japan. In 1019, the British King, 
•James I., wrote a book against its use; and in some countries, laws were 
passed, prohibiting its culture. These attacks, however, did not prevent its 
continued and increased use. Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, parts of the United 
States, and some sections of Europe and Asia, constitute the principal sources 
of its production. 

2. Opium is prepared from a species of poppy, and is very extensively used 
in China and Turkey as a narcotic. 

3. The Betel plant is a climbing shrub which grows in Ilindoostan and 
the islands of the Indian Ocean. The leaves are chewed in combination 
with the Areca nut, and the custom of so using them is as prevalent as a 
similar use of tobacco in the United States. 

XIX. Recapitulation. — It thus appears that vegetation is 
most luxuriant at the level of the sea, in the tropical regions ; 
and that similar changes in its character are observed receding 
from the Equator, and ascending above the general siu'face. It 
appears, also, that while some plants are confined to narrow 
limits, others, including the greater part of those ■which are of 
most importance to man, are susceptible of being widely diflused. 



QUESTIONS ON THE MAP. 

Name the principal food-plants of the Torrid and Hot Zones. — Which one of them is 
regarded as most important? — From what plant is Cassava prepared? — Where \s it 
most used ? — What is Sago ? — Do Yams grow on trees ? — In what region are Dates cul- 
tivated ? — Where does the Bread-fruit tree grow? — What tree produces Cocoa-nuts? 

What are the principal food-plants of the Warm and Temperate Zones ?— Name those 
in the immediate vicinity of your own residence. — What countries export food-plants? 
• — Name some others which import them. — Name some of the plants thus exported 
and imported. — What plants are important as furnishing materials for clothing? — 
Where do they grow? 

AVhere is Tea cultivated ? — Cofff e ? — The Sugar-cane ? — What kind of plant produces 
Pepper? — Where does it grow ? — From what island is Cinnamon obtained? — Do Nut- 
megs grow on a tree or shrub? — What is Mace ? — Where are Cloves produced? — Vanilla? 

Name the spices in common use. — Where are they produced ? — AVhat are the principal 
narcotics? — What is said of Tobacco? — Recapitulate the subjects of this chapter. 



66 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



CHAPTER II. 
ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. 

I. Zoological Geography treats of the different divisions of 
the aninial kingdom, and their geographical distribution. 

II. Folio-wing the classification of the learned French naturalist, 
Baron Cuvier, the animals upon the globe may be considered as 
comprising four principal divisions — variously subdivided into 
classes, orders, families, species, and varieties. 

Division 1.- — Vertebrated Animals. — This division includes all animals 
which have an internal slieleton joined to a bacli-bone. It comprises 
four classes : — 1. Mammalia (animals wiiioh produce their young alive, and 
for a time suckle them, as the cat, dog, lion, &c.). 2. Birds. 3. Reptiles, 
and 4. Fishes. 

Division 2. — Molhiscoiis Aimnah. — Ammala of a soft texture, and having 
no skeleton ; generally furnished with a stony covering or shell : as the oyster, 
snail, and mussel. 

Division 3. — Ariicnlaied Animals. — Animals consisting of a number of 
joints or rings, soft or hard, supplying the place of a skeleton : as the lobster, 
worms, spiders, and insects. 

Division 4. — Radiated Animals. — So called because in many cases their 
organs are arranged like rays proceeding from a centre ; also called Zoophytes, 
or plant animals, from the resemblance of some species to plants. The coral 
insect and microscopic animals belong to this division. 

III. Animals, as well as plants, appear to have been originally 
created in certain specific localities, from which they have been 
to some extent dispersed according to their power of locomotion, 
their ability to endure change of climate, and to procure proper 
food, and the absence of other obstacles to their migration. 

Some animals appear to be limited strictly to their original locality. Thus, 
the Kangaroo is confined to the islands of Austr.alasia ; the Grizzly Bear to 
the mountains in the north-western part of the United States ; and the far- 
famed Bird of Paradise to New Guinea and the adjacent islands. 

The winds and currents have often been the means of widely dispersing some 
animals. Thus, insects and birds have been transported by the winds from 
the continents to adjoining islands. The White Bear has repeatedly made 
the passage from Greenland to Iceland on drifting ice. Wolves and foxes 
have often been seen on great cakes of ice far out at sea, and thus probably 
have frequently been transported from one land to another. A live Boa 
Constrictor, coiled round the trunk of a cedar tree, was found on the shores 
of the island of St. Vincent, one of the West Indies. The monster had pro- 
bably been washed out by the flood of one of the gi'eat South American rivers, 
and borne thither by the force of the currents. 

Man has largely contributed, voluntarily and involuntarily, to the dis- 
persion of animals. They have spread domestic species throughout the 
civilized world, planting them on lonely islands as a source of supply to 
future visitors. AV'ith them, also, some of the most troublesome animals, as 
rats and mice, common in merchant-ships, have been transported to the 
remote islands of Oceanica. 

Man has also greatly restricted the range of many animals, especially 
those of a dangerous or savage nature. Thus, the buffalo once inhabited 
North Carolina, but they have retreated westward before the settler, and 
are now found only on the plains east of the Rocky Mountains. Wolves and 
bears, not many years since, were numerous in New England and in New 
York: now they are very rarely found in those States. The Auroch, the 
wild ox of Europe, a very savage animal, of which a few still linger in the 
forests of Poland, formerly roamed in great numbers through Central Europe. 

Of what does Zoological Geograpby treat? — Name the four divisions of the animal 
icingdom. — Name the different classes of Vertebrated animals. — Give examples of the 
contracted area occupied by some animals. — State some of the means of their diffusion. 



IV. The Mammalia, or Quadrupeds, are the most perfect of the 
animal creation. They diifer greatly in appearance and habits, 
but correspond in the one particular of suckling their young. 
They are divided into the following orders : — 

1. Qnadrmnana (four-handed), monkey, ape. 

2. Carnivora (flesh-eaters), bear, cat, dog. 

3. Marsvpialia (pouched), opossum, kangaroo. 

4. Rodentia (gnawers), beaver, squirrel, rat. 

5. Edentata (toothless), .sloth, armadillo. 

6. Pachydermata (thick-skinned), elephant, horse, hog. 

7. Ruminantia (chewing the cud), camel, ox, sheep. 

8. Marine Mammalia — whale, dolphin, seal. 

1. Quadrumana. — No animals of this order are found on the 
Western Continent, north of Central America ; and none in 
Europe, except upon the rock of Gibraltar — whose inacces- 
sible heights have been long occupied by a race of monkeys, 
identical with the Barbary ape. In the New World, their range 
extends from Central America to the Pampas of Buenos Ayres ; 
in the Old World, they inhabit all of Africa, the southern part 
of Asia, and the islands of the Indian Archipelago. 

There are 170 different species of the monkey tribe, 91 of which belong to 
America. The American species are very different from those of the Old 
World ; they bear much less resemblance to man, and are more gentle and 
lively. They are most numerous in the forests of Brazil and Guiana. 

The ape and baboon .are confined to the Old World. The ourang-outang, 
the name signifj'ing in the Malay language, " wild man of the woods," inha- 
bits Malacca, Cochin-Ohina, and Borneo. The chimpanzee, which inhabits 
Western Africa, has the nearest resemblance to man of any animal. They 
live in troops, construct huts of branches of trees, and arm themselves with 
stones and clubs for defence against man and elephants. In a domestic 
state they are very docile, and readily learn to walk, sit, and eat like men. 




2. Carnivora. — Carnivorous animals include all the land mam- 
malia which feed on other animals. The order numbers 514 spe- 
cies, and is subdivided into four principal families, namely: 
I. Cheiroptera (animals with winged arms). II. Insectivora (ani- 
mals that feed on insects). III. Bigitigrada (animals which walk 
on their toes). IV. Plantigrada (animals which walk on the 
entire soles of their feet). Carnivorous animals are spread over 
the entire globe, their food existing in all sections. Many spe- 
cies are, however, confined to a very contracted area. 



What are the i!ammaUa? — 'Sam& the orders into which they are divided.— Describe 
the order Qiiarfi-iimaiin.— State their geographical range.— Describe the order Cnrnivora. 
—Name the four principal families.— What are some of the animals of tlie Clieiroptera ? 



ZOOLOGICAL CiEOGRAniY. 



67 



Some species of bats, wliicli belong to tbe family Ckeiropiera, are widely 
distributed ; ranging; in the Old World fiom the Arctic Circle to the southern 
extremity of Australia, and extending over almost the entire Western Con- 
tinent. They are nocturnal animals, and in temperate climates pass the 
winter in a torpid state. The most remarkable species of this family, in the 
New World, is the vampire bat of South America, which, feeding entirely 
on the lilood of other animals, attacks all kinds of quadrupeds, and even 
human beings, 

A species, popularly known as " flying cats," belongs to tliis family, and 
abounds in the Molucca and adjoining islands. These singular creatures 
are about the size of a full-grown cat. During the day, they are found sus- 
pended from the branches of trees ; and in the night, they fly about, utter- 
ing a loud cry like that of a goose. To preserve fruit from their attacks, it is 
necessary to cover it with a net. 

The animals of the family Insrc/irora, as the name implies, are appointed 
to keep in check the overwhelming increase of the insect world. The largest 
one of them is the hedge-hog, which lives in Europe and Asia. 

Of the numerous varieties of the family Diti'itigrada, two merit especial 
notice, viz., the cat and the dog. 

The cat tribe, in some one of its species, is a native of all parts of 
the world, except Australia, the Philippine Islands, Japan, and the islands 
of the Pacific Ocean. The only representatives in Europe, in a wild state, 
are the cat and lynx. The puma, or cougar, known as the American Hon, 
and the jaguar, are peculiar to America. The tropical regions of the Old 
World contain the most numerous animals of this tribe. Tbe lion, the most 
powerful of the beasts of prey, is confined to Africa and the southern parts 
of Asia ; the tiger, the scourge of the East Indies, and the most cruel of 
quadrupeds, inhabits Southern Asia, and the adjoining islands; and the 
leopard and panther, two closely-related animals, are widely spread over 
Africa, the hottest regions of Asia, and are also found in the islands of 
the Indian Archipelago. 

The domestic dog, of which there are many species, has attended man in 
all regions and in all climates, and has everywhere been bis faithful com- 
panion and friend. There are two instances of the existence of wild dogs : 
the dhole of India, and the dingo of Australia. 

The principal wild animals of the dog tribe are jackals, wolves, and foxes. 
The jackal, the characteristic dog of Africa, ranges from India and the 
Caspian Sea, as far south as Guinea. They are very numerous in Northern 
Africa. 

The wolf has a wider range. In America, wolves are found from the Arctic 
Circle to near the Isthmus of Panama. In the Old World, from the same 
northern limit to Arabia and India; and from Spain, on the west, to the 
eastern shores of the continent: not occurring, however, in India beyond 
the Ganges. 

But of all animals of the canine tribe, excepting the domestic dog, the fox is 
the most extensively diffused. It is found throughout the greater part of 
America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The red fox inliabits the wood-lands 
of North America ; the black fox, the Siberian forests ; and the white fox, 
the polar regions, coming down for food, in mid-winter, on the American 
Continent, to near the parallel of 50°. 

Hyenas, martens, and otters represent other ti'ibes of the family Di'(/ifi- 
ijrada. The spotted hyena is limited to Africa; the striped hyena is found 
throughout Africa, and in tbe southern countries of Asia. These snarling, 
disgusting creatures are chiefly nocturnal animals, inhabiting caverns, and 
subsisting on dead bodies. 

The more important species of the marten tribe, the ermine and sable, 
valuable on account of their furs, have their province in the polar regions 
of the two continents. Two species of sea otter, the most valuable of fur- 
bearing animals, are peculiar to North-eastern Asia, North-western America, 
and the Aleutian Islands. 

On what do the family Insectivora feed? — Name tbe different animals of the cat 
tribe found wild in America. — Europe. — Asia. — Africa. — Name the principal wild ani- 
mals of the dog tribe. — State the countries they inhabit. — Give the names of the coun- 
tries in which animals of the family Plnutitfradit are found. 



Of animals belonging to the family i'/a»C/</raf/rt, the most important is the 
bear tribe. The grizzly bear, the most formidable species, is found only in 
the region of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The American bbiek 
bear inhabits all the wooded districts from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic 
Ocean, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The polar bear, so noted tor its 






'/■r 






iU^' /J 



?t>. 




voracity, occupies the polar regions of both continents. Abyssinia, Thibet, 
Syria, and Sumatra have each different species. Tlie raccoon, badger, and 
wolverine, are numerous in the western parts of the United States, and are 
also members of the family Hantigrada. Tliey are not found in Oceanica. 

3. The Marsiipialia, of wliich there arc 123 known species, are 
animals furni.shed with a pouch, in which the females carry their 
young while very small ami imperfectly formcil. They are not 
found on the Eastern Continent, and on the Western are repre- 
sented by only one family, the opossums, spread from the Northern 
United States to the La Plata River. The order specially char- 
acterizes Australia, the Spice Islands, and New Guinea. 

The kangaroo, the principal animal of this order, and the largest native 
animal of Australia, was first discovered by Captain Cook in 1779. It is 
found in all the explored parts of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. 

4. The Rodentia, or gnawers, so named from the manner in 
which they file or gnaw with their front teeth, number 604 dif- 
ferent species. The beaver, mouse, rat, musquash, or musk-rat, 
S(iuirrel, and porcupine, arc the best known animals of this order. 
The Rodent families of the Old World -generally differ from those 
(if the New, but the common mouse appears to be distributed over 
all Europe and North America ; and rats have been transported 
in ships to all quarters of the globe. 

The beaver of North America, hunted for its fur, and now comparatively 
rare, has a geographical range from tbe Atlantic to the Pacific, and from 
about Lat. .37° to Lat. G8°. They live solitarily during the summer, but in 
winter herd together in huts, which they ingeniously construct, partly above 
and partly below the surface of running streams. 

5. The Edentata, of which there are only 28 different species, 
are animals characterized by the absence of front teeth. They 
peculiarly belong to Central and South America, and only occa- 
sionally occur in the southern regions of the Old AVorld. The 
sloths, armadillos, and ant-eaters are the principal animals of 
this order. 

Describe the order Marstipialia. — IIow many species does it contain ? — W'hich family 
is represented on the Western Continent? — Which is the largest animal of this order? 
— Describe the order Ilodetitia. — Name some of the principal animals. — AVhat is the 
peculiarity of animals of the order Edentata? — Where are they most numerous? 



68 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



Sloths inhabit the dense forests of Brazil, where they can traverse 
many miles without touching the ground. They suspend themselves by one 
limb from the boughs of the trees, using the others to draw towards them 
the adjacent branches, on the foliage of which they feed, never leaving a tree 
till it is entirely stripped of its leaves. 

The armadillo is remarkable for a scaly and hard bony shell which covers 
its head and body, and often its tail. It is much hunted by the inhabit- 
ants on account of its flesh, which, when roasted in the shell, is said to be 
extremely delicate. 



^'.- '^, 



n 



-^5" J J /w^l'Il— n- 



The ant-eater feeds almost entirely upon insects, especially, as its name 
implies, on ants. 

6. The Pacliydermata, or thick-skinned order, numbering 39 
species, comprise the largest and most powerful of all land ani- 
mals, and also some of the most useful domesticated by man. 
The important families of this order are : I. The Elephant. 
II. The Rhinoceros. III. The Hippopotamus. IV. The Horse, 
and V. The Hog. 



-"'^^ M 







There are two species of the elephant, inhabiting two distinct regions. 
The Asiatic species ranges from the lower slopes of the Himalaya Moun- 
tains, through all India, on both sides of the Ganges ; through the peninsula 
of Malacca, the south of China, and the islands of Sumatra and Ceylon. 
The African species, of smaller size, and supposed to be more ferocious and 
less sagacious, inhabits the countries from the northern borders of Cape 
Colony to Lat. 15° North. 

The range of the rhinoceros is nearly the same as that of the elephant. 
It is found, however, in Java, where the elephant is wanting. The hippo- 
potamus, or river horse, of which there is but one species, appears to be 
confined to the rivers and lakes of Middle and Southern Africa. Both these 
animals are remarkable for their stupidity and ferocity. 

The native country of the horse is unknown. It is now found wild on the 
plains of Central Asia, the llanos and pampas of South America, and the 
prairies of North America ; but in all these cases, its present condition is 
probably a return from the domesticated to a wild state. The horse was 
introduced into America by the Spaniards, soon after the discovery of the 
Continent by Columbus, and is now very generally diffused throughout the 
civilized world. This valuable and beautiful animal seems to arrive at 
perfection in warm and temperate regions, and to degenerate in cold 
climates. 

The ass was probably domesticated at an earlier period than the horse. 
It is a native of Central Asia, and still ranges there in immense troops, free 
and unreclaimed, migrating north and south, according to the season. 

The beautiful, gaily-striped, but vicious zebra, resembling in form the ass, 
and the more handsomely-formed, sober-colored quagga, are peculiar to 
Southern Africa. 

The European wild boar, which is the parent stock of the domestic hog, 
has a wide geographical range. It occurs generally throughout the Old 
World, from France eastward to the Asiatic shores of the Pacific, and ex- 

What country does the Sloth inhabit? — For what is the Armadillo remarkable?— 
Name the important families of the order Pnchydermata. — How many species of the 
Elephantare there?— State the regions inhabited by the Rhinoceros and Hippopotamus. 



tending as far north in Asia as Lat. 60°. It is not found in Spain, Italy, 
and Persia. The domestic hog is now spread throughout the earth. It was 
unknown in America till introduced by the Spaniards towards the close of 
the fifteenth century, but has since run wild, and formed large herds in 
many parts of the Continent. 

7. The order Ruminantia numbers 180 different species, and 
includes all animals which chew the cud. The animals of this 
order are remarkable for their elegance of form, and for their 
usefulness to man. They furnish him with food, milk, tallow, 
leather, horn, and other products, and also serve him as beasts 
of burden. The principal families of this order are as follows : 
I. Camels. II. Llamas. III. Camelopards (Giraffes). IV. Deer. 
V. Antelopes. VI. Goats. VII. Sheep, and VIII. The Ox. 

The name Ruminantia intimates the singular faculty possessed by these 
animals of masticating their food a second time, after it has been returned 
to the mouth from the stomach. This faculty depends on the structure 
of their stomachs, which are always four in number — the first three being 
so disposed that food may enter into either of them. The first and 
largest stomach receives a quantity of vegetable matter, coarsely bruised 
by the first mastication. This matter passes thence into the second sto- 
mach, where it is moistened and compressed into little pellets or cuds, and 
returned to the mouth to be re-chewed. The food thus re-masticated, 
descends directly into the third stomach, whence it passes to the fourth, 
which is the true organ of digestion, analogous to the stomachs of animals 
in general. 

Camels .are confined to Southern and Central Asia and Northern Africa; 
and limited to two species, both of which are completely domesticated. 
The drouiedary is a fleet variety of the Arabian camel. The camels of the 
East are represented in the Western Hemisphere by the llamas of South 

Where is the Horse found wild ? — What is the country of the Quagga and Zebra? — 
When was the Hog first introduced into America? — Name the principal families of the 
order Rnmiuani-ia. — What does the term liitminantla imply? — Where are Camels found? 



ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



G9 




^•fyrs , 160 140 120 100 



80 60 40 20 



60 SO 100 120 140 160 



-/SOe^ 



QUADRUMANA. 


9. 


Puma. 


19. White Bear. 


Pachydermata. 


R0MINANTIA. 


44. Auroch. 


1. Chimpanzee. 


10. 


American Panther. 


21). Black Bear. 


26. Elephant. 


35. Camelopard. 


45. Cashmere Goat. 


2. Ourang Outang. 


11. 


Canada Lynx. 


21. Brown Bear. 


27. Khinoceros. 


36. Camel. 


46. Llama. 


Carnivora. 
.3. Lion. 


12. 
1.1. 


Dingo. 
Wolf. 


Marsupialia. 
22. Kangaroo. 


28. Hippopotamus. 

29. Horse. 


37. Reindeer. 

38. Deer. 


Marine Mammalia. 

47. Spermaceti Whale. 


4. Tiger. 


14. 


Fox. 


30. Ass. 


39. Elk. 


48. Greenland Whale. 


5. Striped Hyena. 


15. 


Marten. 


Edentata. 


31. Zebra. 


40. American Buffalo. 


49. Seal. 


6. Ounce. 


16. 


Sable. 


23. Armadillo. 


32. Quagga. 


41. Zebu. 


50. Walrus. 


7. Lynx. 


17. 


Ermine. 


24. Ant-Eater. 


33. Wild Boar. 


42. Yak. 


51. Narwhal. 


8. Jaguar. 


18. 


Grizzly Bear. 


25. Platypus. 


34. Peccary. 


43. Musk Ox. 


52. Grampus. 



America, principally found on the west side of the Andes, from New 
Grenada to the Straits of Magellan. The alpacca is a species of llama, 
with long, woolly hair. The camelopard (giraffe), the tallest of all animals, 
is confined to the desert regions of Africa. 

The deer family include all those ruminating animiils which are furnished 
with solid horns, or antlers. The elk, or moose-deer, is as large as a horse. 
Jt has broad, solid, and very heavy antlers; and belongs to the northern 
regions of both Continents. The reindeer is more capable of enduring cold 
than the elk, and hence occupies the highest latitudes. It is peculiar to the 
glacial regions of both Continents, and is the animal so celebrated for the 
services which it renders to the Laplanders. The true musk-deer, noted for 
its secretion of musk, is an inhabitant of Central Asia. 

Africa is peculiarly the land of the antelope, the most numerous in spe- 
cies of any of the families of the Rmninantia, differing widely in size, color, 
habits, and station. A few court the shade of the forests; some inhabit the 
lofty table-lands ; but the greater number roam the plains in troops. The 
gazelle, long noted for its large, mild, black eye."!, i.s found in Egypt, Bar- 
bary, and through all the country bordering on the Great Desert. Of two 
European species, one is the chamois, so remarkable fjr its agility, dwelling 
on the highest regions of the Alps, and other lofty mountains. 

Tlie parent stock of the common domesticated goat is unknown. The 
Cashmere goats, occupying the declivities of the Himalaya Mountains, and 



upper plains of Thibet, are celebrated for the tine wool which grows among 
their hair, of which cashmere shawls are made. 

The largest and most powerful of all ruminating animals belong to the o.x 
tribe. The common domestic ox is a native of the Old World ; and though 
now living in Lapland, as far north as 70°, probably came from the warmer 
parts of the Temperate Zone. The Brahminy bull, a sacred animal in India, 
is distinguished by a hunch on its back. The musk-ox, named from the odor 
of its flesh, inhabits the coldest regions of North America. 



QUESTIONS ON THE CHART. 

What animals of the order Quadrumana are found on the Eastern Continent? — On 
the Western ? — On which Continent are the most ferocious Carnivorous animals? — Are 
they most numerous in Polar regions, or near the Equator? — Name five Carnivorous 
animals of North America. — Name an animal of the order Marsupialia, and state where 
it may be found. — In what Grand Division are the Edentata most numerous? — Name 
three ditferent animals of the order Pachydermata found in Africa. — How do these ani- 
mals compare in size with the Carnivora? — Which do you think the most valuable 
animal of this order? — What valuable animal of the order Ruminantia is found in 
Africa? — In Lapland? — In the United States? — In South America? — In Thibet? — 
What countries does the Yak inhabit? — The Giraffe? — What savtige animal of the 
order Ruminantia inhabits the western part of the United States? 



ro 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



The Aurocli, or European bison, a very savage animal, which was abundant 
in Germany in the time of Charlemagne, is now found in the forests 
south-east of the Baltic Sea. It is the largest European quadruped. The 
American bufiiilo roams in great numbers on the prairies east of the Rocky 
Mountains. The Cape buifalo, which inhabits the forests of Southern Africa, 
is a very large and ferocious animal. All these species are remarkable for 
their daring energy, boldness, and untamable disposition. 

The Yak, or mountain ox of Central Asia, is the highest ranger of the 
tribe. Its chosen abode is where the average annual temperature is below 
the freezing-point. Hence it lives amid eternal snow on the table-land of 
Thibet, the roof of the world, at an elevation of 15,000 feet. The fine-haired, 
bushy tail of this animal furnishes the well-known oriental insignia of rank. 
The phrase, " Pacha of three tails," signifies the number of tails of the Yak 
which that officer is allowed to have carried on State occasions. 

8. Marine Mammalia. — This order includes all the marine 
animals -which suckle their young. Several of the species are 
popularly considered as fishes, resembling them in external ap- 
pearance. The order forms two distinct families : the AmpJiibia 
(animals which live both on land and in water), and the Oetacea 
(animals of the whale kind). 

Seals and walruses are the principal animals of the family AmpJiibia. 
Their favorite habitation is the Frigid, and the colder parts of the Tem- 
perate Zones, in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The walrus, 
a grim-looking animal, exceeding in size the largest bull, is much hunted 
for its oil, and for its tusks, the ivory of which is employed in the arts. It 
is exclusively confined to the Arctic regions. 

Whales were formerly much more numerous, and more generally distri- 
buted through all the oceanic waters than at present. They have been 
driven almost entirely from the Atlantic Ocean, and much reduced in num- 
bers in the waters of the Arctic and Pacific, by the untiring pursuit of man. 
In the Antarctic Seas, however, into which man has not so often intruded, 
they are still very numerous ; and it is to that quarter the attention of whale 
adventurers is now directed. 

The spermaceti whale, se valuable for the oil principally found in its 
head, has its habitation in all the oceanic waters, except the Polar Seas. 
This huge animal, sometimes 75 feet in length, has been known to fight 
desperately when attacked by the whalemen, and has even destroyed ships 
by strokes of its enormous tail. The common black, or Greenland whale, 
the chief species pursued by man, is now found principally in the Arctic, 
and in the northern parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It is valuable 
for its oil and bone. The Great Rorqual, of the Northern Atlantic, is the 
largest of living animals, being sometimes from SO to 100 feet long. 

The dolphins, so remarkable for their voracity, and the swiftness of their 
motions, are found in almost every latitude. Shoals of porpoises, spouting 
and tumbling in pursuit of the herring and mackerel which constitute their 
prey, may be seen in all parts of the Atlantic. The Grampus is the largest 
and fiercest animal of the porpoise tribe, sometimes even attacking the whale. 

The Manatus, Dugong, and Stellerine, popularly known as sea-cows, sirens, 
and mermaids, are herbivorous animals, feeding on sea-weed, and the herbage 
at the bottom of streams. The Manati are chiefly found near the mouths 
of rivers which flow into the warmest parts of the Atlantic Ocean : as the 
Amazon, the Orinoco, and the rivers of Western Africa. The Dugong inha- 
bits the shallow parts of the Indian Ocean. It sits upright when suckling its 
young, thus giving rise to the fable of the mermaid. 

V. Birds constitute the second class of the vertebrated ani- 
mals. They are the most favored of all animals in their powers 
of locomotion ; yet, like the Mammalia, most species are confined 
by geographical laws to particular districts. The most beautiful 
varieties of birds are found within the Tropics ; where, also, with 
the exception of two orders (the waders and swimmers), the 
number of species and individuals is greatest. 

What does the term "Pacha of three tails" signify? — Name the two families of the 
ordQr Marine Mammalia.—V^hich are the principal animals of the family jln)^/ii'6j'af — 
Cetacea ?■ — How large is the sperm whale ? — "Where are the most beautiful birds found ? 



Birds are divided by Cuvier into the following six orders: — 

1. Rapaces (birds of prey), eagle, hawk, vulture. 

2. Scansores (climbers), parrot, wood-pecker. 

3. Oscines (songsters), robin, humming-bird. 

4. Gallinacea (Oallina, a hen), domestic fowl, partridge, grouse. 

5. Orallaiores (waders), snipe, heron, crane. 

6. Natatores (swimmers), duck, penguin. 

The entire known number of species exceeds 6000. 




1. Rapaces. — The principal birds of prey are : Vultures, 
Eagles, Hawks, and Owls. 

The condor, a species of the vulture family, is the largest of all flying 
birds, sometimes measuring fifteen feet from tip to tip of the wings. On 
one occasion, Humboldt saw this bird floating over the summit of Mount 
Chimboi'azo, at an elevation of 22,000 feet. The secretary bird, so called on 
account of the resemblance of the tuft of feathers upon the top of its head 
to a pen behind the ear of a man, is a species of the vulture family, which 
inhabits Southern Africa, and preys upon serpents. 

2. Scansores. — Parrots, Toucans, Wood-peckers, and Cuckoos, 
are birds of this order. 

The birds of the parrot fomily are .remarkable for the beautiful color of 
their plumage, and their power of imitating the human voice. They princi- 
pally inhabit the tropical regions. The toucans are all natives of Tropical 
America. The wood-peckers are widely spread, being found in all quarters 
of the globe, except Australia. 

3. Oscines. — The songsters constitute the most numerous order 
of birds, and include those most generally known in temperate 
regions : as the Lark, Robin, Swallow, and Sparrow. The Mock- 
ing-bird, of the southern part of the United States, one of the 
finest of song-birds, and remarkable for its great facility of imi- 
tating almost any sound, belongs to this order. 

4. Gallinacea. — Birds of this order are much more numerous 
in the Old World than in the New ; the greatest number of spe- 
cies being found in Tropical Asia. The domestic fowls, Quails, 
Pheasants, and Pigeons, are gallinaceous birds. 

Name the six orders of birds. — What is the entire known number of species? — What 
are the principal birds of prey? — Name those of the order Scansores. — To what order 
does the Mocking-bird belong? — To what the domestic fowls. Quails, and Pheasants? 



ZOOLOGICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



71 



cy^Ti 



160 140 120 lOQ 80 GO 40 20 



20 40 60 80 100 120 140 



160 



"^^D© 




©QGv. 



160 140 120 100 



80 ino 120 140 JfiO 



J2£>'& 



Kapacks. 


12. Snowy Owl. 


22. Resplendent Trogon. 


33. Crowned Pheasant. 


44., Crane. 


55. Canada Goose. 


1. 


Condor. 


13. Owl. 


23. Oriole. 


34. Partridge. 


45. White Spoonbill, 


56. Whistling Swan. 


2 


King Vulture. [Alps. 


14. California \'ulture. 


24. Bird of Paradise. 


35. Ptarmigan. 


46. Apteryx. 


57. Stormy Petrel. 


3. 


Gre.at Vulture of the 


15. Common Buzzard. 


25. Nigbtingale. 


36. Lyre Bird. 


Natatores. 


58. Penguin. 


4. 


Griffin Vulture. 


16. Iceland Falcon. 


26. Hoopoe. 


Grallatores. ■ 


47. Great Auk. 


Reptiles. 


5. 


Sociable Vulture. 


17. Secretary Bird. 


27. Plaiutain Eater. 


37. Cstrich, 


48. Cormorant. 


69. Boa Constrictor. 


6. 


Common Vulture. 


SCANSORES. 


28. Senegal Web-crest. 


38. Emu. 


49. Albatross. 


60. Crocodde. 


7. 


Turkey Buzzard. 


IS. Toucan. 


Gallinacea. 


39. Cassowary. 


50. Great North'n Diver. 


61. Alligator. 


S. 


Bald Eagle. 


liS. Macaw. 


29. Turkey. 


40. Adjutant. 


51. Eider Duck. 


62. Python. 


9. 


Crowned Eiigle. 


20. ToothbiU. 


30. Black Grouse. 


41. Flamingo. 


62. Duck. 


63. Green Turtle. 


10. 


Wedge-tailed Eagle. 


OSCINES. 


31. Silver Pbeas.ant. 


42. Sacred Ibis. 


53. Bernicle Goose. 


64. Cobra de Capello. 


11. 


Osprey. 


21, Huraming-Bird. 


32. Gold Pheasant. 


43. Stork. 


54. Snow Goose. 


65. Rattlesnake. 



The turkejf, a native of America, was introduced into Europe during the 
sixteenth century, and is now widely diffused throughout the Eastern Con- 
tinent. The Guinea fowl, oriji;inany from Africa, is still found there in a 
wild state. The peacock, well known for the beauty of its plumage, is a 
native of Northern India. 

5. G-rallatores and Natatores. — The waders and swimmers are 
far more numerous in the temperate and polar regions than in 
tropical countries. The most remarkable species of waders, how- 
ever, occur in tropical and southern climates. The African and 
South American Ostrich, the Cassowary, and Australian Emu, 
are among the most extraordinary as well as most gigantic birds. 

Ducks, swan, geese, pelicans, penguins, and gulls, are among the principal 
birds of the order of swimmers: all more numerous in temperate than in 
tropical regions. The eider duck, valuable for its eggs and the down taken 
from its nest, is an important and interesting species, inhabiting the shores 
of the Arctic Ocean. Penguins are found along the coast of Patagonia. 
The black swan, a very curious species, lives in Australia. 

The migration of birds is an interesting fact in Natural History. Some 
migrate singly — others in flocks — and others still in vast armies. Alex- 
ander Wilson estimated a flock of pigeons which passed above him, in 



Canada, for the greater part of a day, to have been a mile in breadth, and 
240 miles in length ; and to have contained (three birds being assigned to 
the square yard,) 2,230,272,000 pigeons. Many birds alternate regularly 
between two distant countries, as food becomes scarce or abundant by the 
change of season. The rice-bird of Carolina is known further north as the 
reed-bird of the marshes in the vicinity of the Chesapeake and Delaware 
Bays, and the bob-o-link of New England. 



QUESTIONS ON THE CHART. 

Which is the largest of the Rapacious birds ? — What Gr.and Division does this bird 
inhabit?— On which Continent do you find the Bald Eagle?— In what part of the world 
the Secretary Bird ?— To what order does the Macaw belong ?— Where is this bird found? 

Name three birds of the order Oscines. — What part of the world does the Bird of 
Paradise inhabit ?— Where do you find the Nightingale ?— Where Humming-Birds? 

Of what Grand Division is the Turkey a native ?— The Guinea fowl ?— The Peacock ? 
— To what order do Quails, Pheasants, and Partridges belong? 

Name five difi'erent birds of the order of Waders. — Which bird of this order is the 
largest ?— What Grand Division does it inhabit ?— Name a bird of this order which in- 
habits Australia. — Where do you find the Cassowary ? — The Adjutant? 

Name six birds belonging to the order of Swimmers.— Where are they to be found? 



72 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



VI. Reptiles, of wliich there are 657 kiio-\vn species, diminisli in 
number, size, and noxiousness, from the Equator to the Poles. 
Crocodiles and serpents are among the principal families of this 
class. 




There are three tribes of the crocodile family, namely: the true crocodile, 
which is confined to the tropical rivers of Africa ; the alligator, or cayman, 
which is exclusively an American species ; and the gavial, vrhioh inhabits 
the Ganges and other Asiatic rivers. The alligators of the rivers and marshes 
of the southern part of the United States are more savage than those of 
South America, sometimes attacking men and animals. 

The number of species of harmless serpents is more than three times, and 
the number of individuals more than twenty times, as great as that of the 
venomous. The rattlesnake, one of the most venomous of serpents, is exclu- 
sively an American family. The cobra de capello, the dancing snake of Indian 
jugglers, is a vei-y venomous serpent, peculiar to vSouthern Asia. The boa 
constrictor, generally from ten to twenty feet long, lives in the great tropical 
forests of South America, where it often hangs from the Boughs of trees to 
watch its prey. The python, which is exclusively a serpent of the Eastern 
Continent, is of about the same size as the boa constrictor. 

Frogs and salamanders extend further towards the polar regions than any 
other reptiles, reaching, in North America, on the Mackenzie River, the 
67th parallel of latitude. 

Reptiles, in cold and temperate climates, bury themselves in the ground, 
and lie torpid during the winter ; in hot climates, during the dry season, 
they also fall into a similar state. 

VII. Fishes constitute the fourth class of vertehrated animals. 
Some of the species are widely distributed throughout all the 
oceanic waters, while others appear to be confined to particular 
localities. 

The greater number of fish, used by man for food, frequent sho.al water. 
The cod and mackerel are examples. Sharks roam in the deep ocean of 
tropical and warm climates. Flying-fish never go beyond the parallel of 
40°; their most active enemies, known from their brilliant colors as "gilt 
heads," observing the same limit. 

Several kinds of fish are eminently social and migratory. The herrings 
issue every year from the depths of the Arctic Ocean, and repair in vast 
shoals to the coasts of the United States, Western Europe, Kanitschatka, and 
the Aleutian Islands. Cod annually visit the coasts of Newfoundland, where 
vast numbers of them are caught. 

Pike and salmon are the only species of fresh-water fish common to 
Europe and North America. The pike, however, is unknown west of the 
Rocky Mountains. Salmon go up rivers to spawn, and make extraordinary 
leaps over falls to reach the places suitable for depositing their eggs. 

Name some of the principal families of Reptiles. — Which of the Crocodile family is 
found in America? — Africa? — Asia? — How does the number of harmless serpents com- 
pare with thjit of the venomous. — Describe the fourth class of vertehrated animals? 



VIII. The inferior orders of the animal kingdom — the Mollus- 
cozis, the Articulated, and the Radiated animals — are much 
more numerous than the Vertehrated. division, which has already 
been described. 

The division MoUusca comprises principally marine animals : as the oyster, 
and various species of shells. They are most rem.arkable for their size and 
beauty in the Torrid and Hot Zones ; thus, the pearl-oyster only comes to 
perfection in the equatorial ocean. 

Some families of the division Arlicnlaied animals are of direct utility to 
man : as the honey-bee, silk-worm, and cochineal insect. A far greater 
number indirectly promote his benefit: such, for example, as destroy animal 
and vegetable substances in a state of decomposition, and those that prey on 
other noxious tribes, and are thus instrumental in keeping them within due 
bounds. 

Microscopic animals, which belong to the division Sadiaied animals, exist 
almost everywhere, and in numbers which bafile the power of arithmetic to 
express, or the mind to conceive. They live in fog, rain, snow, and ice, in 
the ocean, in stagnant water, in boiling springs, on the surface of the snow 
in the Arctic regions, in volcanic ashes, and in peat earth twenty feet below 
the surface soil. If a drop of water be examined with a microscope, it will 
be found literally to swarm with animal life. 

Sir .James Ross sent some surface ice, of a brownish-yellow color, which 
he collected near Mt. Erebus, in the Antarctic regions, and which he sup- 
posed was colored by volcanic ashes, to M. Ehrenberg, the noted Prussian 
mioroscopist, for examination. The coloring matter of this ice was found to 
consist of microscopic animals, almost the whole of which reached the great 
naturalist's residence at Berlin alive, four years after they were collected. 

Such, indeed, is the tenacity of life in the microscopic animals, that they 
have been known to recover after an exposure to 248° of heat, and drying 
in vacuo for 28 days. 

IX. Reeaj)itulation. — It thus appears that the animals upon 
the globe comprise four principal divisions, the lower orders of 
which are far the most numerous, both in species and individuals. 
The Eastern Continent has contributed a much greater number 
of the higher orders, the vertehrated animals, to the domesticated 
races than the Western. The horse, ox, ass, camel, goat, hog, 
many sheep, dogs, and domestic fowls, being native animals of 
the Old World ; while the llama, turkey, and some sheep and 
dogs, are the only domestic animals of importance native to 
America. The largest and most savage animals are also found 
on the Eastern Continent : as the elephant, rhinoceros, lion, 
and tiger. 

The learner will not fail to recognise the wisdom and goodness 
of the Creator, in so constituting those animals which are most 
useful to man, that they can exist in different parts of the earth, 
under very different conditions. Thus, the lion and tiger cannot 
live in cold countries, nor can the white bear sustain the heat of 
the equatorial regions, while the patient ox can equally well endure 
severe cold or fervent heat. 

Nor will he fail also to recognise the care of Providence in the 
remarkable adaptation of each animal to his natural condition. 
Thus, animals of the Torrid Zone, as the Barbary dog and the 
ape, are supplied with a slight coat of hair ; while animals of the 
Arctic regions, as the sable, ermine, and bear, are provided with 
the thickest furs. Deer, hare, and other animals designed to 
seek safety in flight, have limbs expressly formed for speed ; 
while those of the elephant are formed for strength, and adapted 
to support the enormous weight of his body. 

Name the three inferior orders of the animal kingdom. — Describe the Molluscous ani- 
mals. — Name some of the Articulated animals most useful to man. — What is said of the 
number of Microscopic animals ? — Recapitulate the subjects of this chapter. 



ETHNOGRAPHY. 



73 



CHAPTER III. 
ETHNOGRAPHY. 

I. Ethnography treats of the different varieties of the human 
race, and their geographical distribution. 

Man, the head of the animal kingJom, and lord of the creation, has the 
whole earth for his abode. He can adapt himself to every variety of climate, 
soil, and situation ; and deriving nourishment from all kinds of food, his 
habitations extend to the farthest bounds of animated nature. 

II. Owing mainly to the flexibility of his constitution, although 
obtaining much artificial aid, man can subsist under the greatest 
climatic extremes. The Esquimaux endure the cold between the 
parallels of 70° and 80° ; the African negroes live under the 
burning sun of the Equator ; while Europeans, accustomed to an 
intermediate temperature, have borne the rigor of the highest 
accessible latitude, and the fiercest heat of the Torrid Zone. 

The power of the human frame to resist cold, appears to depend greatly 
on the amount of food which the individual consumes. It is well known 
that the Esquimaux eat as much as ten or twelve pounds weight of animal 
food in twenty-four hours, its eiFect being heightened by its fat and oily 
quality. A much larger supply of animal than vegetable food is required in 
a cold climate ; while amid torrid heat, rice and fruit form an appropriate 
diet. 

The human race can also adapt itself to very different states of the atmo- 
sphereas todensity, though with a varying capacity in different individuals. 
Some travellers are very painfully affected by the rarity of the atmosphere 
upon lofty elevations, while others suffer very little inconvenience. Mr. 
Darwin, who experienced much difficulty in breathing on crossing the Portillo 
pass of the Chilian Andes, intimates that, at Potosi, about 13,000 feet above 
the sea, though strangers suffer at first from the atmosphere, no inconve- 
nience is felt after a short stay. Lieut. Ilerndon, who, in 1851, crossed the 
Ataranga pass of the Alps, 16,04-4 feet in height, experienced no inconve- 
nience whatever, though one of bis companions suffered exceedingly. 

III. The human race are not confined to any particular diet, 
but subsist in different situations with equal facility on very dif- 
ferent kinds of food. Vegetables are the chief food of the nations 
within the Tropics ; animals, of the polar tribes ; both animals 
and vegetables contributing to support the inhabitants of tem- 
perate climates. 

In high latitudes, where the ground is covered with snow throughout the 
greater portion of the year, and vegetation is very scanty, entire hordes live 
on fish and seals. Towards the Equator, where vegetation flourishes most, 
vast numbers thrive, with no other articles of support than cocoa-nuts, 
bananas, yams, and rice. In the intermediate districts, the special region 
of the cereal grains, where animal food can also be as readily procured, a 
mixed diet prevails. 

IV. Few portions of the globe have been discovered destitute 
of a native human population. Among the principal of them are 
Spitzbergen, Nova Zembla, Iceland, St. Helena, the Madeira and 
Falkland Islands, and the Antarctic Lands. 

V. The leading physical differences observable among man- 
kind are varieties of strength, stature, proportion of the limbs, 
texture of the skin, color, character of the hair, and the form 
of the skull. 

Of what does Ethnography treat ? — Under what different conditions can man live ? 
— On what docs the power to resist cold appear to depend? — Is any inconvenience 
experienced in ascending high mountains ? — Why ? — What sort of food is principally 
eaten in the Arctic regions? — -In the Torrid Zone? — In Temperate climates ? — Name 
some portions of the glohe which contained no native human population. 
10 



Both barbarous and civilized races exhibit the diversities of physical 
power which are found in individual families ; but, contrary to popular 
opinion, upon comparing the two together, the result of experiment shows 
the savage to be inferior to the civilized man in muscular energy and capa- 
city of endurance : though some of his senses, as sight and hearing, are 
remarkably vigorous. 

While a difference in stature will be observed in the same families, there 
are examples of tribes departing generally from the ordinary height. The 
Esquimaux, Laplanders, and Hottentots, are examples of diminutive size. 
The Patagonians, Caribs, Tonga islanders, and some of the tribes of Central 
Africa, are tall. 

Among the Bosjesmen of Southern Africa, the average height of the men 
is stated to be about four and a half feet, and that of the women four feet. 
The Patagonians average six feet, and very frequently exceed it. 

VI. Mankind differ in the propoi-tional size of parts of the bony 
skeleton, and in the texture of the skin and hair. Such differ- 
ences are observable in individuals of various families, but they 
seem to be peculiar to particular tribes. Thus, some of the negro 
tribes have broad flat feet, a projecting heel, and a greater length 
of the fore-arm, measured in proportion to the upper arm and 
height of the body. 

The skin is also softer and more velvety, a characteristic of some of the 
South Sea Islanders. The hair has likewise that peculiar character which 
has led to the African nations being styled in general " woolly haired," fine, 
wiry, and crisp ; while that of the Mongolian tribes is strong, straight, and 
scanty; and that of Europeans, long, soft, and flowing. 

VII. A difference in the color of the skin, hair, and eyes, is 
one of the most obvious distinctions of mankind. The African 
nations are black ; the American Indians are copper-colored ; and 
the inhabitants of Europe and the United States have a fair 
skin, with color in their cheeks. Omitting exceptional cases, 
there is a mutual correspondence between the color of the 
skin, hair, and eyes. Light hair is generally found to be accom- 
panied by a fair, transparent skin, and light blue or grey eyes ; 
and a dark skin has usually associated with it black hair and 
dark eyes. 

A most remarkable individu.al variety, not constituting tribes or nations, 
is the Albino. The hair is of a milky-white or cream tinge ; the color of 
the skin is the same, occasionally of a pinkish hue ; and the eye is pink, the 
pupil being intensely red. Albinos are usually of negro parentage, but occur 
in other races. 

VIII. The last important physical diversity apparent among 
mankind is the form of the skull, which varies remarkably, pre- 
senting several well-defined shapes, distinctive of great groups 
of the human population. 

IX. A great difference is also observable among mankind 
with reference to language, degree of civilization, religion, and 
form of government. 

The entire number of known languages .and dialects in the world is 3664, 
distributed as follows: — American, 1624; Asiatic, 937; European, 587; 
African, 276 ; Oceanic, 240. 

Some modern writers on philology classify this large number of lan- 
guages and dialects into a few great divisions, each containing those which 
bear a grammatical resemblance to each other. Those of the Old World are 
considered by Chevalier Bunsen to constitute but five divisions. 

What are the principal physical differences observable among mankind ? — Which is 
strongest, the barbarous or civilized races ? — Name some varieties of the human race 
noted for their stature. — Name some noted for peculiarities in the formation of the 
skeleton.— Name others noted for peculiarities in their skin, hair, or eyes.— State some 
diversities, other than physical, observable among mankind. 



74 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



The degree of civilization which various tribes have attained, and the 
forms of government under -n-hich they live, are very different. In some 
countries, the United States and Great Britain for example, life and property 
are under the protection of the law, and held sacred. In other parts of the 
world, as Dahomey, in Africa, life is taken at the will of the king, on the 
most trifling pretexts. 

Most, if not all, of the different varieties of the human race appear to have 
some idea of a Supreme Being, though with many rude tribes it is very im- 
perfect. The Christian religion, as taught in the Holy Scriptures, only 
prevails among the most highly civilized nations. The forms of worship 
vary in other nations, becoming, in many cases, the lowest and most 
degrading superstitions. 

X. Takins into consideration the diversities of mankind which 

o 

have been heretofore enumerated, the entire human family may 
be regarded as constituting five races, each distinguished by 
marked and characteristic peculiarities. These races are seve- 
rally named as follows: — 1. The Caucasian, or white race; 
2. The Mongolian, or yellow race ; 3. The Ethiopian, or black 
race ; 4. The Malay, or brown race ; 5. The American, or 
red race. 

Naturalists of the past and present century have arrived at very different 
conclusions, as to the number of races into which mankind may be divided. 
The distinguished Baron Cuvier writes, " that of certain hereditary pecu- 
liarities of conformation which constitute what are termed races, three in 
particular appear eminently distinct : the Caucasian, or white ; the Mongo- 
lian, or yellow ; and the Ethiopian, or Negro." But this naturalist was 
undecided whether to refer to either of these, the Malays, the Papuans, the 
Australians, South Sea Islanders, and Indians of America. 

Dr. Prichard, a very high authority, observes that " comparing the prin- 
cipal varieties of form and structure which distinguish the inhabitants of 
different countries, there are seven classes of nations, which may be sepa- 
rated from each other by strongly marked lines." The Ethiopian and Malay 
races, in the classification adopted in this work, are each considered by Dr. 
Prichard as constituting two races. 

Dr. Pickering, the naturalist of the United States' Exploring Expedition, 
and a gentleman probably whose own individual observation has exceeded 
that of any of the naturalists who have written on this subject, in the first 
chapter of his very excellent and interesting work, says : " I have seen, in 
all, eleven races of men ; and though I am hardly prepared to fix a positive 
limit to their number, I confess, after having visited so many different parts 
of the globe, that I am at a loss where to look for others." 

In his classification, the races are arranged under four colors: the white 
includes the Arab and Abyssinian ; the brown, the Mongolian, Hottentot, 
and Malay ; the blackish-brown, the Papuan, Negrillo, Indian of Ilindoostau 
(also called Telingan), and Ethiopian; and the black, the Australian and 
Negro races. In the classification of this book, the Arab, Abyssinian, Te- 
lingan, and part of the Ethiopian races, of Dr. Pickering's classification, are 
included in the Caucasian ; and the Papuan, Negrillo, Hottentot, Australian, 
Negro, and remainder of the Ethiopian races, are included in the Ethiopian. 
The race described in this work as American is included by Dr. Pickering 
in his Mongolian and Malay races. Other writers of greater or less note 
have adopted still different classifications. 

The classification adopted in this book is that of Blumenbach, and is 
essentially the same with that previously made by the great naturalist, Buffon. 
In the light of modern ethnographical science it may or may not be the 
most correct, but since it is that most generally known, it is most con- 
venient for the purposes of this work — which is not so much to show the 
history of the different races, as their present geographical distribution. 

The pupil who wishes further to investigate this most interesting subject, 
is referred to the works of Dr. Prichard, the " Races of Men," by Dr. Pick- 
ering, and the " History of the Human Species," by Col. Hamilton Smith. 

State some facts to show the difference in the civilization of different countries. — In 
what nations does the Christian religion prevail? — Into how many races may the whole 
human family be divided? — What was the classification of Baron Cuvier? — What was 
Dr. Prichard's ? — Quote the language of Dr. Pickering upon this subject. 



XI. The Caucasian race comprises the inhabitants of Hindoos- 
tan, Afghanistan, Persia, Turkey, Arabia, Georgia, Circassia, 
and a section of Chinese and Independent Tartary, in Asia ; the 
Great Desert, Barbary States, Egypt, Nubia, and Abyssinia, in 
Africa ; all of Europe (except the Finns, Laplanders, Magyars of 
Hungary, and Turks), and the descendants of Europeans in 
America and other parts of the globe. 




1. European. 
4. Arab Chief. 



Caucasian Race. 
2. Circassian Chief. 
5. Brahmin, or Hindoo Priest. 



3. Georgian Girl. 
6. Western Hunter. 



This vast section of the human family comprehends at present, and has 
ever done since the date of authentic history, the most perfectly formed, 
vigorous, and intellectual of mankind. The Egyptians, Hindoos, Assyrians, 
Babylonians, Medo-Persians, Greeks, and Romans, successively represented 
the civilization of past ages. They founded mighty empires, and obtained 
paramount influence in the world — a heritage which has descended to the 
nations of Western Europe, and their off-shoot in the United States. 

The Caucasian race received its name from the supposition that it 
originated in the mountains of Caucasus, whence it is supposed to have 
spread into Europe and Asia. Col. Hamilton Smith conceives the true 
origin of the race to have been in the beautiful vallej's where the Indus, 
Amoo, and Cashgar have their upper courses, among the mountains of 
Hindoo Koosh, the true Caucasus of the ancients. 

A small, beautifully-shaped head, oval face, expanded forehead, small 
mouth, regular features, symmetrical shape ; fine, copious, and flowing hair ; 
complexion generally white, but of all shades — fair, florid, olive, swarthy, 
and even black — are the peculiar characteristics of the Caucasian race. It 
is only in this race we find the full-bearded man, and the clear, transparent 
skin, which admits the soft-spreading blush of woman. 

The European and American divisions of this race, the Abyssinians of 
Africa, and Armenians of Turkey and Persia, profess the Christian religion. 
The Arabs of Asia and Northern Africa ; the Berbers, Egyptians, and Moors 
of Northern Africa; and the Persians, Afghans, and some other tribes of 
Asia are Mohammedans. The Hindoos are Pagans. 

What does the Caucasian race comprise ? — What has been the character of this race 
in past times? — What is its present character? — From what does it derive its name? — 
Describe this race. — Which nations profess the Christian religion ? — Which the Moham- 
medan ? — Name the principal Pagan nations of this race. 



The entire number of the Caucasiiiii race 
distributed as follows : — 



ETIINOG 

estimated at 4TU,0()(),000, 



Inhabitants of Europe 250,000,000 

European colonists anil their descendants in America 30,000,000 

European colonists and their descendants in other parts of the globe, 2,0(M),000 
Arabs, Berbers, Moors, Egyptians, Abyssinians, and other tribes of 

Northern Africa 22,0011,000 

Inhabitants of South-western Asia 106,000,000 



Total 470,000,000 

XII. The Mongolian, or yellow race, comprises the Es<iuiinaiix 
of America ; the Finns, Laplanders, Osmans of Turkey, and Mag- 
yars of Hungary, in Europe ; the inhabitants of Ceylon and the 
Japanese Islands, the Siberian and Tartar tribes, the natives of 
China, and all South-eastern Asia, except the Malays of Malacca. 




1. Thibetian Priest. 
4. Lapland AVoman. 



Mo.vGOLiAN Race. 
2. Chinese Mandarin. 
5, Kamtschatdale. 



-3. Mongol Tartar. 
6. Esquimau-x. 



The Mongolian race ranks in numbers next to the Caueasi.an ; and proba- 
bly so, also, in other respects. It derives its name from Mongolia, in Cen- 
tral Asia, where it is supposed to have originated. 

A yellow, or sallow, olive complexion; dark eyes, small, and obliquely 
set; long, straight, black hair — with iittle, if any, beard, eye-brows, or eye- 
lashes ; broad skulls, and high cheek-bones, are peculiarities of the Mongo- 
lian race. 

Different varieties of this race vary greatly in stature and personal appear- 
ance. The Esquimaux of America, the Finns and Laplanders of Europe, 
and the Samoides and other tribes of Siberia, are of a diminutive size, 
equally ugly in face and form. The Kalmucks, and other Tartar tribes of 
Central Asia, whose whole employment is the chase, war, and the tending 
of cattle, are rather a handsome people; and like all who lead a savage life, 
are endowed with very acute senses of seeing and hearing. 

The Chinese and Japanese have made very considerable advancements in 

the arts of civilization, and their institutions date back for a long period ; 
yet they are inferior to many of the lower families of the Caucasian race. 

What is the entire number of the Caucasian race ? — What nations does the Mongo- 
lian race comprise? — How does this race rank with reference to the Caucasian? — State 
some particulars with reference to tlUfercnt varieties of this race. 



RAniY. 75 

The Osmans of Turkey, the true Turks, and present rulers of the country, 
are Mongolians; and from being one of the ugliest families in Europe, by 
frequent intermixtures with other races, have become one of the handsomest. 
The Magyars of Hungary are a bold, handsome family, of Mongoli.an origin, 
which established themselves in Europe in the ninth century, and becanip 
Christians in the eleventh century. 

The Finns, Laplanders, and Magyars profess the Christian religion ; the 
Turks, and some of the Tartar tribes, arc Mohammedans; the remainder of 
the race are attached to different systems of the Pagiin religion. 

The Mongolian race is estimated to number about 302,600,000, distributed 
as follows : — 

Esquimau.x of Northern America, and Chinese of California, America, 100,000 

Finns, Laplanders, Magyars, and Osmans of Turkey, — Europe 15,500,000 

Inhabitants of Asia and Asiatic Ishinds 287,000,000 

Total .302,600,000 

XIII. The Ethiopian, or black race, comprises the natives of 
Africa, south of the Great Desert and Abyssinia ; the inhabitants 
of the islands of Australia, Papua, or New Guinea, New Hebrides, 
New Caledonia, Solomon's Archipelago, the Feejee Islands, a 
part of Madagascar, and several tribes of the Malaysian Islands. 
A large number of this race are held in slavery in America. 




1. Miindingt 
4. Papuan. 



ETntOPIAN IvAi 

2. Galla. 

5. Australian. 



.3. Foulah Woman. 
6. Bushman. 



The head of the Ethiopian is narrow, and compressed at the sides ; the 
nose is broad and flat ; the lips, especially the upper one, are very thick ; 
the eyes are black, large, and prominent; the hair is black and woolly; and 
the skin is dark-colored, often jet black. 

A great difference is observaije in individuals and tribes of this race. 
Some of the tribes south of the Groat Desert are tall, finely-shaped, and 
exhibit much intelligence ; while the Bushmen and Hottentots of South 
Africa, classified by some writers as a different race, are among the most 
hideous creatures in existence. 

What does the Ethiopian race comprise? — Describe the general appearance of this 
race. — Is there much difference in the individuals and tribes of this race? — State some 
facts to illustrate your statement. 



76 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



The Gallas principally inhabit Eastern Africa, south of Abyssinia. They 
are a tall, black people, divided into many tribes, all of which appear to be 
equally cruel and ferocious. The Mandingoes and Foulahs inhabit Western 
Africa. They are handsome varieties, considerably advanced in civilization. 
The Papuans of New Guinea, New Caledonia, and the Feejee Islands, 
classed by Dr. Pickering as a separate race, are a family of robust blacks, 
among the most ferocious upon the globe. They are cannibals. The indi- 
viduals of this race present a singular personal appearance, on account of 
their enormous heads of hair. 

The Australians, and some rude tribes of blacks who inhabit the interior 
of many of the islands of Malaysia, (classified by Dr. Pickering as consti- 
tuting two separate races,) are in many respects the most degraded of human 
beino-s. The natives of one of the New Hebrides Islands are described by 
a sea-captain, who visited them, as more resembling monkeys than men. 

The Ethiopian race is computed to number 53,000,000, distributed as 
follows : — 

Slaves and free blacks in America 1.3,000,000 

Natives of Africa 35,600,000 

Natives of Madagascar 2,000,000 

Papuans, Australians, and other tribes of islands in the Pacific and 

Indian Oceans 2,400,000 



Total , 



63,000,000 



XIV. The Malay, or brown race, comprises the chief part of 
the native inhabitants of the peninsula of Malacca, the islands 
of Malaysia, New Zealand, and Polynesia (except the Feejee 
Islands), and a part of Madagascar. 




1. Malay of Malacca. 
4. Hawaiian. 



Malay Race. 
2. Javanese Chief. 
5. Tahitian Woman. 



3. Madegasy of Madagascar. 
6. New Zealand Chief. 



The Malayans have a reddish-brown complexion ; long, coarse, black hair; 
deep-set, black eyes ; flat faces, and a low forehead. 

Considering the race as constituting two divisions — the Malay and Polyne- 
sian, the latter inhabiting the islands of Polynesia — a great difference will be 
observed in their stature. The Polynesians are very tall, while the natives 
of the islands of Malaysia are decidedly below the general average. 

Describe the Gallas. — Papuans. — Australians. — What does the Malay race comprise ? 
— Describe the general appearance of this race.— Name the two divisions of the Malay 
race. — What is said of their respective heights? 



The Polynesians are generally mild and gentle in their disposition. Many 
of them have adopted the Christian religion. On islands where the white 
men have established themselves, the Sandwich Islands for example, the 
native population has much decreased, and ultimately will probably become 
extinct. 

Many of the Malays are Mohammedans ; and the natives of some of the 
islands are far advanced in social life, while in others they are rude, fero- 
cious, and vindictive. 

The entire number of the race is estimated at about 23,500,000, distributed 
as follows : — 

Malays of Malacca 600,000 

Malays of Madagascar ,, 2,000,000 

Inhabitants of Polynesia., 350,000 

Inhabitants of Malaysia 20,650 000 



Total 23,600,000 

XV. The American, or red race, three centuries and a half 
ago, occupied the entire American Continent. Decreasing in 
numbers, they are rapidly disappearing before the white man ; 
and seem destined, at no distant day, to become extinct. The 
entire number of the race is estimated not to exceed eleven 
millions. 




American Race. 
1. Pawnee Chief. 2. Comanche. 3. Digger, or Snake Indian. 

4. Araucanian. 5. Patagonian. 6. Puegian. 

A copper-colored complexion ; long, coarse, black hair ; scanty beard ; 
black, sunken eyes ; large mouth, and high cheek-bones, are peculiar cha- 
racteristics of this race. In many respects it much resembles the Mongo- 
lian, with which it is often classed. 

A few of the North American tribes, the Cherokees and Choctaws for 
example, are civilized — practising the arts of agriculture, and living in 
towns, where they have established schools and churches. By far the 
greater part, however, still retain their savage habits ; roaming over the 
entire western section of the country, from Mexico to the region of the 
Esquimaux ; subsisting by war, robbery, or the chase. The Chenooks, 

Describe the Polynesian division. — What is the estimated number of the Malay race? 
— Are the red race increasing or decreasing in numbers? — What race does it most 
resemble? — Describe some of the tribes. 



ETHNOGRAPHY. 



77 




inhabitants of Nootka Sound, and other north-western triljes, are among the 
most degraded of mankind. 

The Snake Indians, popularly known as Diggers, inhabit the desert region 
of the Great Basin of Utah. They are a thieving, miserable tribe, who sub- 
sist chiefly upon roots dug from the ground. Lizards and crickets also form 
a portion of their food. The Comanches and Apacliees are warlike tribes, 
which roam over the plateaus and plains of Texas and New Mexico. 

In Mexico, Central America, and in South America, in all of which the 
Indians have much intermixed with other varieties, they are a half-civilized 
people, living in villages, and practising the rude arts of agriculture. Some 
tribes, as the natives of Terra del Fuego, and the dirt-eaters of the Orinoco 
region, are very degraded. The Caribs of Venezuela, and the Patagonians, 
who inhabit the desolate parts of the southern extremity of the continent, 
are very tall. The Araucanians of Southern Chili are a brave tribe, who 
live mostly by the chase, and who have successfully defended their country 
against the all-conquering whites. 

Though ranging through many climates, and subsisting on very different 
kinds of food, the Indian race has the same general appearance in Patagonia, 
Brazil, Mexico, and Oregon. 

XVI. The following is a summary of the present population 
of the globe, arranged in races, and by territorial divisions. The 
estimates are made from the most recent and reliable authorities, 
but in many cases they are mere estimates. 

faucasi.in Race 470,000.000 | Asia 455,560,000 

Mongolian " 302,600,000 Europe 265,400,000 

Ethiopian " 53.500,000 

Mal.iy " 23,500,000 

-American " 11,000,000 



Africa 01,600,000 

America 64,600,000 

Oceanica 23,440,000 



Total 800,600,000 



Total . 



. 860,600,000 



QUESTIONS ON THE CHART. 

In which of the Grand Divisions of the globe are the Caucasian race most numerous ? 
— In which the Mongolian? — The Ethiopian? — Which race principally inhabit 
lylauds ? — On which Continent do you find the American race? — On which the greater 
part of the Mongolian race ? 

To what race do the Hindoos belong? — The Nubians? — The Arabs? — Are all the 
varieties of the Caucasian race alike advanced in civilization? — Which do you think the 
more enterprising people, the English or the Persians? — The French or the Arabs? — 
The Germans or the Abyssinians ? — The Nubians or Swedes ? 

Are the men who inhabit the northern parts of the Continent inferior or superior to 
those who live in the North Temperate Zone? — ^ How do the people who inhabit the 
Torrid Zone compare with those who reside in the Temperate? — Which are usually 
the most enterprising class: those who live on. islands, or those who dwell on conti- 
nents? — Give illustrations to prove your statement. 

To what race do the Chinese belong ? — The Japanese ? — Which of these two varieties 
inhabit isl.ands ? — In what Grand Division of the globe do you find Birmans ? — What 
part of the American Continent is inhabited by a variety of the Mongolian race? — 
Which is most advanced in civilization, this variety or the Chinese ? 

Is there any diff"erence in the physical appearance of the various tribes of the Ethio- 
pian race ? — What kind of a people are the Australians ? — To what race do they belong ? 
— Which are usually the tallest, Hottentots or Patagonians ? — Which are most advanced 
in civilization, Foulahs or Australians ? — To what race do the Papuans belong? — To 
what the Haytians ? 

What is the color of the Malays ? — Do they principally inhabit islands or continents ? 
— In what Grand Division .ire they found? — To what race do the inhabitants of the 
Sandwich Islands belong? 

What race formerly inhabited nearly all of America ? — What is the present character 
of this race? — Is it increasing or decreasing in numbers? — Who inhabit the northern 
p.irt of America? — To what race do they belong? — Name the tribe inhabiting the 
most southern portion of the American Continent? 

Which Grand Division conLains the greatest population? — Which the least? — Which 
race is most numerous ? — Which is least in number? — Which race is most numerous, 
the Malay or the Indian ? — The Ethiopian or Mongolian ? 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY 



OF 



THE UNITED STATES 



CHAPTER I. 

GEOGEAPHICAL POSITION AND EXTENT. — PENIN- 
SULAS, CAPES, AND ISLANDS. 

I. The United States occupy the central part of the northern 
division of the American Continent. They are -washed by the 
Atlantic Ocean on the east, and the Pacific on the west ; by the 
chain of great lakes on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico on 
the south. 

The United States extend through 24|° of latitude, from the parallel of 
Key West, in Florida, 24° 32', to the parallel of 49°; and through 57° of 
longitude, from the 67th to the 124th meridian, — nearly one-sixth of the 
distance round the globe. A line drawn on the 40th parallel of latitude, 
from their eastern to their western boundary, would have an extent of 2650 
miles ; and one drawn on the 98th meridian of longitude, from their northern 
to their southern boundary, would have an extent of 1600 miles. The entire 
area of the country may be stated at about three millions of square miles. 

II. The coast-line of the United States is comparatively un- 
broken, the sea rarely penetrating far into the land ; and on the 
other hand, the land in but few cases projects any great distance 
into the ocean. 

In these respects, there is a wide difference between the United States and 
Europe, which is especially noted for its deep and extensive inland seas, 
branches of the great ocean, so valuable for purposes of navigation. The 
United States, however, are amply compensated for their want of such faci- 
lities, by numerous navigable rivers, and the chain of great lakes which forms 
a part of the northern boundary. 

The extent of the coast-line is estimated aa follows : — 
Atlantic Coast, from mouth of St. Croix River, Maine, to Cape Sable, 

Florida 2525 miles. 

Coast of Gulf of Mexico, from Cape Sable to mouth of Rio Grande... 1925 " 
Pacific Coast, from the Parallel of 32° 30' to that of 49° 1750 " 

Total 6200 " 

The principal br.anches of the sea extending into the land are Chesapeake, 
Delaware, and Massachusetts Bays, and Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds on 
the Atlantic coast, and the Bay of San Francisco on the Pacific coast. The 
principal bodies of land projecting into the sea are the Peninsulas of Florida 
on the south-east, and Cape Cod on the east, both extending into the 
Atlantic Ocean. 

Give the boundaries and extent of the United States. — How does its coast-line com- 
pare with that of Europe? — Name the principal bodies of water projecting into the 
land. — Name the principal points of land extending into the ocean. 



Most peninsulas have the line of their greatest extent from north to south, 
as Florida. The Peninsula of Cape Cod is an exception, extending first in 
an easterly direction, then turning to the north, and terminating in a low, 
sandy point. 

The Golden Gate is the channel connecting the Bay of San Francisco with 
the Pacific. Long Island Sound is a shallow body of water north of Long 
Island, through which is carried on much of the commercial intercourse be- 
tween the city of New York and the New England States. 

III. Many inferior projections of land, known as capes or 
points, extending a short distance into the ocean, mark the 
entrance of bodies of water into the land, or the pointed termi- 
nation of bodies of land in the ocean. 

Cape Ann and Cape Cod, the terminating point of the Peninsula of Cape 
Cod, mark the entrance of Massachusetts Bay. Montauk Point is the eastern 
extremity of Long Island. Sandy Hook marks the entrance of New York 
harbor ; Cape Henlopen and Cape May, of Delaware Bay; Cape Charles and 
Cape Henry, of Chesapeake Bay. 

Cape Ilatteras (the dread of mariners). Cape Lookout, Cape Fear, Cape 
Canaveral, and Cape Florida, are low, sandy points, projecting into the 
Atlantic Ocean. Cape Sable is the south-west point of the Peninsula of 
Florida. Cape Piomans and Cape St. Bias are points extending into the 
Gulf of Mexico. Points Conception and Delgado, and Capea Mendocino, 
Orford, Foulweather, Lookout, and Flattery, project into the Pacific. Cape 
Orford is the most western point of land in the United States. 

IV. Numerous islands are scattered along the various coasts 
of the United States, most, if not all, of which give evidence, both 
by their geological structure and geographical position, that they 
were once a part of the main land, and have been separated from 
it by some convulsion of nature, or violent storm, or by the long- 
continued action of the waters of rivers and the ocean. 

The islands of the Atlantic coast, north of the Peninsula of Cape Cod, are 
mostly of granite formation, and considerably elevated above the sea. 
Mount Desert Island, on the coast of Maine, containing an area of about 
150 miles, is the largest. 

South of this peninsula, on the Atlantic coast, and on the coast of the 
Gulf of Mexico, the islands are generally low and sandy. Long Island, east 
of New York, containing an area of 1450 miles, is the largest. Niintucket 
Island, and Martha's Vineyard, east of Long Island, and the Tortugas and 
Florida reefs, south-west of Florida, are the other principal islands. 

The Santa Barbara Islands are a barren, rocky group, situated in the Pa- 
cific Ocean, off the coast of California. They contain several good harbors. 

Name the principal capes along the coast of the United States. — What is the character 
of the islands north of Cape Cod Peninsula ? — What of those on the Athantic coast south 
of Cape Cod, and on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico? — Describe the Santa Barbara Islands. 

(78J 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



79 



CHAPTER II. 
MOUNTAINS. 

I. The mountain-ciiains of the United States may be consi- 
dered as constituting three diflferent systems, namely: the Alle- 
ghany, or Appalachian ; the Rocky Mountain, and the California 
systems. 

II. The Alleghany system extends in a south-west direction, 
in a line nearly parallel with the Atlantic coast, from the Gulf 
of St. Lawrence to about the 34th parallel of latitude, or within 
about 200 miles of the Gulf of Mexico. In some parts of its 
extent, this system consists of a single chain ; but it is generally 
composed of several parallel ranges, with valleys between them. 

For a more particular description of this system, let the Highlands of the 
Hudson River, which have an elevation of from 1000 to 1700 feet, be assumed 
as a starting-point. 

From the Highlands, in a snuth-west direction, at a distance from the 
Atlantic varying from 50 to 3(K3 miles, is a nearly continuous chain, the 
most eastern range of the system, which is finally lost in a series of slight 
elevations, between the head-waters of the Savannah and Chatahoochee 
Rivers, about latitude 34°. South of the 40th parallel, this chain is known 
as the Blue Ridge ; north of it, as the Kittatinny, or Blue Mountains. 
Mount Mitchell, a peak of the Blue Ridge, is the highest elevation of the 
Alleghany system. 

AVest of this range are several ridges, known in different parts of their 
extent by different and local names. The principal of them, named in the 
order from e.ast to west in which they occur, are the Alleghany Mountains, 
Laurel Ridge, Chestnut Ridge, and the Cumberland Mountains. 

From the Highlands, in a north-east direction, a continuous chain may 
be traced, through Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont, into Canada. 
In Vermont, this chain is known as the Green Mountains. 



r' 




View of tho WiUcy House ami Notch, Whito Mountains. 



The White Mountains of New Hampshire, so noted for their grand and 
beautiful scenery, are a spur from the Appalachian system. An irregular 
chain of high lands, which extend across the State of Maine, above the 
head-waters of the Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers, may also be regarded as 
an outlying spur of the same system. Mount K.itahdin, 5000 feet high, and 
Mars Hill, 1683 feet in height, are the principal elevations of the Maine 
Highlands. 

North of the Highlands, in the State of New York, are the two groups 

Name tlie three mountain-systems of the United States. — Which of them borders the 
Atlantic coast? — Name the principal ranges of the Alleghany system south of the 
Hudson River. — Name those north-east of the Hudson. — Which are the principal ele- 
vations of the Maine Highlands ? — Name the two mountain-groups in the State of 
Kew York. — Where is the Valley of Virginia? 



of the Catskill and Adirondack Mountains. The Catskill Mountains are 
much visited by tourists, and greatly admired for the beautiful scenery in 
which they abound. 

Regarding the Alleghany system as a continuous chain, its entire length 
from the northern boundary of Vermont, Lat. 45°, to where it disappears 
in the low lands of Alabama, Lat. 33° 30', may be stated at 1300 miles. The 
system ranges in width from 30 to 150 miles, averaging, perhaps, about GO 
miles. The average elevation is from 2000 to 3000 feet. 

Between the different ranges are many valleys of greater or less extent. 
The Valley of Virginia, west of the Blue Ridge, is the most extensive of them, 
and has been long noted for its beauty and fertility. 

III. The Rocky Mountain system of the United States is a 
part of the great American chain which extends from the Arctic 
Ocean to the Straits of Magellan. 

The main chain of this system extends in a southerly direction, entirely 
across the United States, forming the water-shed between the Atlantic and 
the Pacific Oceans. From the northern boundary of the country to the 38th 
panallel of latitude, this chain is known as the Rocky Mountains — thence to 
the southern boundary, as the Sierra Madre. 

A spur, called the Black Hills, branches off at about the 40th parallel, 
and extends in a north-east direction, nearly to the Missouri River. From 
about the same parallel, a nearly continuous chain m.ay be traced in a south- 
erly direction, east of the Rio Grande, into Texas. In various parts of its 
extent this chain is known by different and local names. The Guadalupe 
Mountains and Sierra Diavolo are among the principal ranges. 

The Wahsatoh Mountains are an important branch of the main chain. 
They extend in a south-west direction, from about the 42d parallel, nearly, 
or quite, into the State of California; perhaps uniting the Rocky Mountain 
and California systems. 

IV. The California system of the United States comprises the 
mountain-chains of the country west of the Rocky Mountain 
system. The principal ranges are the Cascade, the Sierra 
Nevada, the Coast, and the Blue Mountains. 

The Coast Mountains, the most western chain, extend along the Pacific 
coast from the southern boundary of California to the Strait of Fuca. They 
are of inconsiderable elevation, rarely rising more than 2000 or 3000 feet ; 
their distance from the ocean varying from 30 to 60 miles. 

The Sierra Nevada Mountains branch off from the coast^range at about 
the 35th parallel, and extend in a northerly direction to about the 43d 
parallel, where they are merged in the Cascade range. The gold-producing 
valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers lie between the Sierra 
Nevada and the Coast Mountains. 

The Cascade range extends from about the 40th parallel, between the 
Sierra Nevada and Coast Mountains, across the Territories of Oregon and 
Washington into British America. It is the loftiest chain of mountains in 
the United States. Several of the peaks are volcanic, and from some of them 
smoke and ashes still occasionally issue. The Blue Mountains are a spur 
from the Cascade range, which extend in a north-eastern direction from 
about the 43d parallel to Lewis River. 

The entire country between the Cascade range and Sierra Nevada on the 
west, and the Rocky Mountains on the east, (a more particular description 
of which will be found in the next chapter,) is an elevated table-land, tr.a- 
versed by many mountain-chains and broken ridges, which frequently unite 
the two mountain-systems just described. 

V. Most of the ranges of the Alleghany system, as well as the 
Coast chain of California, are covered with vegetation to their 
summits ; while the loftier heights of the Cascade range. Sierra 
Nevada, and Rocky Mountains, are barren and inaccessible : 
many of the peaks being perpetually covered with snow, and 
vegetation only occurring on their lower slope and at their base. 

Of what great chain is the Rocky Mountain system a part ? — Name some of the prin- 
cipal spurs of this system. — What does the California system comprise 1 — Describe the 
Coast chain.— Cascade range. — Sierra Nevada. — What is the character of the country 
between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascade range and Sierra Nevada? — What is 
said of the growth of vegetation on these mountains? 



80 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



CHAPTER III. 
GENERAL SURFACE OF THE COUNTRY. 

I. The diversities in the surface of the United States may be 
most conveniently described by considering the entire country as 
constituting seven distinct Hydrographical regions, or sections, 
the waters of which flow in opposite directions into different 
bodies of water, or different parts of the same body. Their 
names and areas are as follows : — 

Area in Square Miles. 

1. The St. Lawrence Basin 130,000 

2. The Atlantic Slope , 420,000 

3. The Mississippi Valley 1,300,000 

4. The Texas Slope 280,000 

5. The Pacific Slope 630,000 

6. The Inland Basin of Utah (Great or Fremont Basin) 220,000 

7. The Basin of the Red River of the North 20,000 

Total .". .3,000,000 

The water-shed separating the different regions is, in some cases, a 
mountain-chain — as the Rocky Mountains, which separate the Mississippi 
Valley and the Pacific slope : and in others, it is a very slight elevation of the 
general surface — as the water-shed dividing the St. Lawrence Basin from 
the Valley of the Mississippi, on the prairies of Illinois and Wisconsin — the 
elevation of which is scarcely perceptible. 

II. The St. Lawrence Basin includes that portion of the 
United States, the waters of which flow into the St. Lawrence 
River, or into the chain of great lakes, of which that river is 
the outlet. 

It embraces a part of Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and all of Michigan. The entire region is 
a well-wooded, fertile plain, varying in elevation above the level of the sea 
from 300 to 1500 feet. 

III. The Atlantic Slope includes the region drained by rivers 
flowing into the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico, from the River 
St. Croix to the Mississippi. 

It embraces all the New England States, except a part of Vermont ; all 
of New Jersey, Delaware, the District of Columbia, South Carolina, and 
Florida ; and a part of New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, North 
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. 

The north-eastern section of this slope extends from the River St. Croix 
to the Hudson. It is a hilly and generally fertile country, abounding in 
limpid streams, clear lakes, and ponds. It increases in width from the 
Hudson towards the north-east. 

The south-western section widens from the Hudson towards the Gulf of 
Mexico. This section embraces two distinct divisions. The first is a low, 
level plain, immediately adjoining the ocean, above which it rarely rises 
more than 100 feet. Along the Atlantic coast this division is about 100 
miles wide. It includes all of the Peninsula of Florida, and a tract along 
the Gulf of Mexico 150 miles in width. 

From the Hudson to the Roanoke River this is a sandy region, which, 
though not naturally fertile, is susceptible of being made highly productive 
by cultivation. South of the Roanoke, this plain abounds in swamps, 
though there are extensive tracts of sandy land covered with pine forests, 
and a considerable extent of rich alluvial soil. 

The tract of land between the mountains and the section already described, 
which has an average elevation of about 1000 feet, is a plain, sloping to the 
south-east. It is a well-watered, beautiful, and highly-fertile section ; one 
of the most attractive and richest districts of the United States. 

Name the Hydrographical regions into which the United States may be divided. — 
Describe the water-shed separating these regions. — What is the character of the land 
of the St. Lawrence Basin? — What States are included in this division? — Name the 
political divisions of the Atlantic Slope. — Describe each of the physical divisions. 



IV. The Mississippi Valley includes the vast tract of country 
drained by the Mississippi River and its tributaries. It extends 
from the Alleghany to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Gulf 
of Mexico to the northern boundary of the country. Near the 
Gulf, this Valley is less than 100 miles wide, and on the 40th 
parallel of latitude its width is 1350 miles. 

The political divisions embr.aced in this Valley are portions of New York, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mis- 
sissippi, Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New 
Mexico, and Texas ; and all of the States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, 
Missouri, and Iowa — with Nebraska, Kansas, and Indian Territories. 

The Mississippi Valley forms the chief part of the southern slope of the 
great North American Plain, described on page 17. It comprises more than 
two-fifths of the entire area of the United States, and is for the most part a 
region of unrivalled fertility. 





View on a Western Prairie, 

That portion of the Valley east of the Mississippi River has a very gradual 
ascent to the base of the Alleghany Mountains — the average elevation may 
be 500 feet. Almost the whole surface, with the exception of the prairie 
regions of Wisconsin and Illinois, was originally clothed with forests, and 
a large extent yet continues so. 

From the Mississippi River, westward to within from 200 to 400 miles of 
the base of the Rocky Mountains, the land has a gradual ascent of about six 
feet to the mile. The greater part of this section is prairie country, on 
which there are no trees, except upon the borders of the streams. Some 
tracts of prairie land are very level, while others are undulating, all being 
covered with a heavy growth of grass. 

The country east of the Rocky Blountains, for a distance varying from 
200 to 400 miles, is a desert plateau, from 2000 to 5000 feet in elevation. 
" Recent explorations prove," says the Hon. Jeiferson Davis, Secretary of 
War, in his recent report on the explorations for the Pacific Railroad, "that 
the soil of the greater part of this region is, from its constituent parts, 
necessarily sterile ; and that the remaining part, although well constituted 
for fertility, is, from absence of rain at certain seasons, except where capable 
of irrigation, as uncultivable and unproductive as the other." 

V. The Texas Slope includes all that portion of the United 
States, west of the Mississippi Valley, drained by rivers flowing 
into the Gulf of Mexico. 

The political divisions of this region are nearly all of Texas, a part of 
Louisiana, and a large portion of the territory of New Mexico. 

State the extent of the Mississippi Valley. — Name the political divisions included in 
this Valley. — What part of it is well wooded ? — What part of it is prairie ? — W^hat por- 
tion is table-land ? — Is any portion sterile ? — What part of the United States is included 
in the Texas Slope ? — Name the political divisions of this slope. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



81 



Tills slope comprises throe separate divisions. The first is a low phiin, 
from 30 to 60 miles wide, which borders immediately on the Gulf. This 
section is in general an extremely fertile re};ion ; the river-bottoms are 
remarkably productive. It contains extensive cane-brakes and some 
swamp lands. 

The second division extends further inland, a distance of 150 or 200 miles. 
This is a gently undulating, prairie country, which gradually rises towards 
the north-west, to an elevation of about a thousand feet. Tliis is also a fer- 
tile region, and admirably adapted for grazing. 

The remaining division is a lofty table-land, which is traversed by several 
mountain-ranges. The eastern part of this plateau is called the Llano 
Estacado, or " staked plain." It was so named by the Mexicans, who drove 
stakes in the ground as a guide to their route across it. This plain is nearly 
as large as the entire State of Pennsylvania. It is at certain seasons of the 
year entirely destitute of water ; it is scantily supplied with grass, and not a 
single tree is to be seen upon it. 

The Valley of the Rio Grande, and some other narrow valleys, are perhaps 
the only fertile tracts embraced within this division. 

Along the eastern borders of this sterile region, stretches a remarkable 
belt of wood-land, called the " Cross Timbers." It is about 400 miles lono', 
and from ten to twenty-five miles wide, and separates the fertile low-land 
plains from the desert plateau. 

VI. The Pacific Slope includes that portion of the United 
States drained by rivers flowing into the Pacific Ocean. It em- 
braces all of the State of California and Washington Territory, 
the greater part of Oregon, and a part of Utah and New Mexico. 

This region comprises three separate divisions — the Western, Northern, 
and Southern. 

The Western division embraces the country between the Coast Mountains 
and the Pacific, and the valleys between this chain and the Cascade range 
and Sierra Nevada. This is a region 1200 miles in length, by 120 miles in 
width, containing an area of about 140,000 square miles. It is a moderately 
elevated country, generally well watered and exceedingly fertile, and is the 
only extensive section of the Pacific slope capable of supporting a dense 
population. 

The Northern division embraces the section north of the Great Basin, 
between the Rocky Mountains and the Cascade range. This entire region 
is a table-land, with an average elevation of from 2500 to 3000 feet, traversed 
by many broken mountain-riilges. It is described by the Hon. .Jefferson 
Davis, as "a region of gener.al sterility," to which "there are exceptions in 
the mountain valleys, where the soil is better constituted for fertility, and 
the rains are min-c abumlant ; hut although portions of these are suitable for 
agricultural purposes, they are better adapted to grazing." 

The Southern division of the P.acific slope includes the country lying be- 
tween the Wahsatch and Rocky Mountaijis, which is drained by rivers 
flowing into the Gulf of California. It is in general a table-land, with an 
average elevation of about 4000 feet ; and like the Northern division, is tra- 
versed by many broken mountain-ridges. Near the 32d parallel, the surfixce 
of this plateau is described by the Secretary of War, as being so level that 
scarcely any preparation is necessary (except through the mountain-passes,) 
to fit it to receive the superstructure for a rail-road. 

Like the Northern division, this region is one of general sterility. Some 
of the valleys and mountain slopes are fertile, and considerable tracts are 
well adapted for grazing; but it also contains extensive desert tracts, on which 
ver3' little rain falls, and no vegetation is found. 

YII. The Inland Basin of Utah (Great or Fremont Basin,) 
includes a considerable tract of country, the waters of which do 
not flow into the ocean, but are lost in the sand, or by evapora- 
tion, or flow into lakes which have no outlet. 

This basin embraces the greater pr.rt of the Territory of Utah, and a por- 
tion of Oregon and New Mexico. 

Describe each of the three physical divisions of the Texas Slope. — Name the political 
divisions of the Pncific Slope.- — The phy.«ii-al divisions. — Whicii of these divisions is 
fertile? — What is the general character of the soil of the other divisions? 
11 



The Great or Fremont Basin is a plateau with an average elevation of 
about 5000 feet, surrounded by rugged mountains. It is a dreary, desolate 
region, abounding in salt lakes ; a few of the valleys on its eastern side .are 
made fertile by irrigation, and these alone are inhabited by civilized man. 




View of S;Ut Lake Valley, in Fremont Basin. 

VIII. The Basin of the Red River of the North includes a 
small tract of country in the northern part of the territory of 
Minnesota, the waters of which are drained by that river into 
Lake Winnipeg, and thence by Nelson's River into Hudson's Bay. 

The section of country embraced in this basin is a plain, elevated about 
1500 feet above the level of the sea. It is a tract similar in all respects to 
the adjoining regions, which are drained by the Mississippi and St. Law- 
rence Rivers. 

The water-shed which separates the Mississippi Valley from this basin 
marks the highest elevation of the great North American plain, which ex- 
tends from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. From this line south 
to the Gulf of Mexico, and north to the Arctic Ocean, there is a gradual 
descent. The elevation of this water-shed is so slight, that during high 
water, caused by heavy rains, boats may pass from one basin to the other. 

IX. From the preceding descriptions, it will be seen that the 
fertile slopes of the Pacific are separated from the rich prairies 
of the Mississippi Valley and Te.xas Slope by a belt of mountains 
and table-lands, varying in width from 700 to 1-300 miles. 

The soil of the country included in this belt is generally sterile ; much of 
it is, from its nature, hopelessly so. There are other tracts, however, the 
.soil of which is naturally fertile, and which is unproductive only on account 
of the want of moisture. Some sections, it is supposed, may be made fertile 
by irrigation ; and other desert tracts may be made passable by digging 
wells, or sinking Artesian wells. Through some of the mountain-passes of 
this belt it is proposed to construct a rail-road to the Pacific. 

It will also be perceived that this belt is the only sterile tract of country 
of any considerable extent in the United States; the Pacific Slope, and the 
entire region east of the barren plateau which stretches along the eastern 
base of the Rocky Mountains, being in general a very fertile section. 

Describe the Inland Basin of Utah. — A portion of what Territories are included in 
this B:isin? — I.s the soil of this region fertile? — Describe the B.isin of the Red River 
of the North. — The tract of country between the Pacific Slope and Mississippi Valley. 



82 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



CHAPTER IV. 



RIVERS AND LAKES. 

I. The rivers and lakes of the United States may be considered 
in connection with the seven Hydrographical regions described 
in the preceding chapter. 

II. The St. Lawrence Basin is of more importance to the 
United States, for its chain of great lakes, than for the St. Law- 
rence itself, or its tributaries : the rivers of this system within the 
United States being quite insignificant. It is estimated that the 
water of these lakes, if equally distributed, would cover the earth 
to the depth of three inches. Lake Michigan is entirely within 
the limits of the United States ; each of the other lakes of the 
chain is one half in Canada. 

Lake Superior, the largest body of fresh water upon the globe, is about 
the size of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Its 
waters are discharged into Lake Huron by the River St. Mary's, which forms 
for half a mile of its course a rapid with a fall of 23 feet, entirely obstructing 
the natural channel of navigation. A ship canal now obviates this difficulty. 

Lake Huron receives the waters of Lake Michigan by the Strait of Macki- 
naw, a narrow passage eight or ten miles in length, by four or five miles in 
width ; and discharges its own waters by the River St. Clair. 

Lake St. Clair, a shallow body of water, with an area of about 450 miles, 
may be regarded as the widening of the river which connects Lake Huron 
and Lake Erie. Lake Erie receives the waters of the upper lakes, and dis- 
charges them through the Niagara River over the Falls of Niagara, into 
Lake Onfcirio. 

Lake Ontario, the smallest lake of the system, containing an area about 
one thousand miles less than Lake Erie, discharges its waters directly into 
the River St. Lawrence. Near the union of the lake 'and river are the 
"thousand isles" of the St. Lawrence. They are generally masses of rock, 
of small extent, covered with forest trees ; and to the eye of the admiring 
tourist, who winds his way among them on the dark waters of the river, 
present a scene of indescribable beauty. 

The water of these lakes is remarkable for its clearness and purity, and ia 
deep enough for navigation by large vessels. For commercial purposes, the 
United States are as much indebted to this great chain of lakes as Europe 
is to the inland seas which indent her coast. The coast-line of the United 
States upon these lakes is more than 3000 miles long. It is remarkably 
regular, affording few harbors, except such as are formed by the mouths of 
the small rivers belonging to the system. 

These river-harbors, which at best are narrow and difficult of entrance, 
determine the sites of the principal cities; Chicago, Buffalo, Cleveland, Mil- 
waukie, and others, being thus situated. On account of this deficiency, the 
storms, which are as violent upon these lakes as upon the ocean, are very 
destructive to shipping. Artificial harbors, or breakwaters, have been here 
and there constructed to remedy the evil. 

Lake Champlain, Lake George, the lakes of Central New York, and Winne- 
bago Lake, in Wisconsin, are also tributaries of the St. Lawrence. 

Lake Champlain is a beautiful sheet of water, 120 miles in length, and from 
one-half a mile to ten miles broad. It is navigable for large vessels, and 
affords excellent commercial advantages. A free navigation to the Atlantic 
Ocean has been effected by means of improvements in the River Richelieu, 
which forms its outlet to the St. Lawrence. By the Champlain Canal, which 
connects the lake with the Hudson River and Erie Canal, an unbroken water 
communication exists between Canada and New York. 

In our wars with Great Britain, the natural communication by the River 
Richelieu, Lakes Champlain and George, and the Hudson River, was the 

For what ia the St. Lawrence Basin most important? — Name and describe each of 
the great lakes of this system. — Are these lakes of much commercial importance? — 
What kind of harbors have they? — What river of the Atlantic Slope is connected 
with this basin by a canal ? 



only practicable route for an army between Canada and New York city ; th ; 
country was accordingly twice invaded by this path. 

III. The rivers of the Atlantic Slope generally flow through 
a mountainous or hilly country, and are obstructed by rapids not 
far from the sea. Except for a short distance, they are usually 
navigable only for vessels of a light draught. The Hudson River, 
however, admits of the ascent of large yessels to Hudson ; the 
Delaware, to Philadelphia ; and the Potomac, to Washington. 

The rivers between the Hudson and Mississippi (except in Florida,) fall 
in cascades over the edge of the upland country. This point marks the 
limit of steam navigation, and determines the position of important cities and 
towns : as Paterson, Trenton, Richmond, and Augusta. 




Harper's Ferry. 

The passage of the Atlantic rivers, through mountain-gorges and over 
falls, is often marked by the most striking scenes of natural beauty — such 
as the Palisades of the Hudson, the Falls of the Passaic, the Delaware Gap, 
and the passage of the Potomac through the Blue Ridge at Harper's Ferry. 

The water-power afforded by the rapids and falls of the rivers of this 
system is immense, and gives rise to large manuf.aoturing cities — as Lowell 
and Manchester, on the Merrimack River. Where the country is hilly, the 
valleys of the rivers often afford the most practicable route for the construc- 
tion of railways. 

The hilly regions of New England contain many beautiful lakes, of which 
the rivers of this slope are the outlets. Moosehead Lake, in Maine, is the 
largest of them. Lake Winnipiseogee, in New Hampshire, is greatly ad- 
mired for its beautiful scenery. The marshy regions of Florida also abound 
in lakes. Lake Okechobee is the principal one. 

IV. The Valley of the Mississippi has an area inferior only to 
that of the Amazon, and, extending through so many degrees of 
latitude, embraces the climate and productions of three different 
zones. It is the finest portion of our country, and its vast 
resources of agricultural and mineral wealth are yet but par- 
tially developed. 

Are the rivers of the Atlantic Slope generally navigable any great distance? — Why? 
— What point in their course markE the position of important cities? — Why? — Of what 
use are the rapids and falls of these rivers ? — Name some of the lakes of this slope ? — 
Describe the Valley of the Mississippi. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



83 



The Mississippi River rises in a marshy region, about 1 ')00 feet above the 
level of the sea ; and, in its passage to the Gulf, meets with only two obstruc- 
tions — the Falls of St. Anthony, and of Peckagania. Above the mouth of the 
Missouri its waters are clear and bright; but that mighty stream pours in 
a turbid flood, which imparts a different character to the remainder of its 
course. In this latter division the river is remarkably winding ; by a short 
cut of a mile or two, tlio traveller might sometimes save a circuit of thirty 
miles. 

Below the Ohio, the low banks, subject to periodical overflow, aflbrd 
few favorable sites for large towns, except upon the high bluffs on the east 
side ; at these points, accordingly, Memphis, Natchez, Vicksburg, and others, 
.are situated. 

The Mississippi is navigated principally by steamboats, though large 
sailing vessels ascend to New Orleans, and might go much further. Above 
the Missouri the small tributaries are very numerous; but most of them 
are navigable only for steamers of light draught. Some of these steamers 
draw less than two feet of water. 

V. The Missouri ("smoky water,.") which is commonly classed 
as a tributary of tlie Mississippi, is, strictly speaking, the parent 
stream ; for the Mississippi, before the union of the two rivers, is 
greatly inferior in size to the Missouri, and receives from it its 
most distinguishing characteristics. 

The Missouri rises in the Kocky Mountains, and the springs which form 
its source are not more than a mile from the head-waters of the Columbia. 
At the distance of about 400 miles from its source, the Missouri flows through 
a mountain-gorge, called the "Gates of the Rocky Mountains." For a dis- 
tance of six miles, the rocks rise perpendicularly from the water's edge to 
the height of 1200 feet ; and for the first three miles, there is only one spot 
on which a man could stand between the water and the mountain-side. 
About 110 miles further down the river, are the Great Falls of the Missouri, 
which, next to Niagara, .are the grandest in North America. 

The Missouri is a wild and turbulent river. Its current is very rapid, and 
the channel is rendered exceedingly intricate by numerous sand-bars and 
snags. Yet, when not obstructed by ice, it is navigable for steamers drawing 
from eighteen to twenty inches of water, from its mouth to within fifteen 
miles of the Great Falls, a distance of nearly 2500 miles. 

The Kansas, Nebraska, and Yellow Stone Rivers, are the three principal 
tributaries of the Missouri. The Kansas ("good potato") River, in the lower 
part of its course, drains an exceedingly fertile prairie country; and, with 
the exception of rapids, which could be obviated at a moderate cost, is navi- 
gable for 150 to 200 miles. The Nebraska ("flat water,") is a shallow stream, 
noted for its rapid current. It is not navigable, but derives importance from 
the fact that its vaUey forms the principal route of emigrants to Californi.a. 
The Yellow Stone is said to be navigable for 200 miles. 

VI. The Ohio is, next to the Missouri, the most important 
tributary of the Mississippi River. The Basin of the Ohio affords 
about 5000 miles of navigable waters. 

The Ohio is formed by the union of the Alleghany and Monongahela 
Rivers. Its current, though at first rapid, rarely exceeds a velocity of three 
miles an hour. There is no important obstruction to navigation, except the 
rapids at Louisville; which, however, are avoided by a ship canal. These 
rapids are not so great an obstacle as the sh.allowness of the river in the dry 
months of summer. The ice in winter is another serious disadvantage. 

The rivers which flow into the Ohio, on its south side, generally rise on 
the declivity of the Alleghanies, or among the hills which branch oflf from 
that mountain-system. On this account, most of them are obstructed by 
rapids in some part of their course, requiring the construction of dams and 
locks to avoid the difficulty. The rivers upon the north side (except the 
Alleghany and Wabash,) are only navigable to a limited extent, but they 
are of great value in supplying water to the canals by which their course 
is accompanied. By such artificial means, navigation is extended to the 
remotest parts of the Ohio Basin. 

The Wabash, Cumberland, and Tennessee, are the largest affluents of the 

Which is the larger, the Mississippi or the Missouri River? — Describe the Missouri 
River. — Name its three principal tributaries. — Describe each of them. — What is the 
length of the navigable waters of the Ohio River? 



Ohio River. The Wabash is navigable for more than .300 miles ; the Cum- 
berland, at high water, for large steamers to Nashville, 200 miles, and for 
small boats liOO miles farther. Steamers .ascend the Tennessee River to the 
Muscle Shoal Rapids ; above them, navigation is resumed, and extends to 
Knoxville, in Tennessee. The Alleghany, Monongahela, Great Kanawha, 
Muskingum, Kentucky, Licking, and Green Rivers, are all navigable. 

VII. The Red River rises in the Llano Egtacado. In the first 
sixty miles of its coui'se, the river has worn for itself a channel, 
or canon, so deep and narrow that the banks rise abruptly from 
the water's edge to the hciglit of .500 to 800 feet. For 500 miles 
below the Llano Estacado, the river flows through a dry and 
sandy region, nearly destitute of trees. In the remainder of its 
course, the country is rich and well wooded. 




Red River Caiion. 

The Great Raft is the most important obstacle to navigation. It is formed 
by drift wood, which becomes lodged in the swampy expansion of the river, 
some distance above Shreveport, and obstructs the channel for a length of 
70 miles. Both above and below the Great Raft, the Red River, during the 
greater part of the year, is capable of navigation, by small steamers, for 
several humlred miles. The Washita flows into the Red River a short dis- 
tance above its junction with the Mississippi, and is navigable for about 
300 miles. 

VIII. The Arkansas River rises in the Rocky Mountains, and 
after flowing through the belt of sterile land which stretches 
eastward from their base, enters a fertile region near the borders 
of Arkansas. It is navigable for 800 miles during nine months 
in the year. 



Name the principal tribuUries of the Ohio. — What other rivers of importance flow 
into it? — Describe the Red River.— What is the most important obstacle to its naviga- 
tion ? — Describe the Arkansas River. 



84 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



Besides the great tributaries above described, the Mississippi receives 
many smaller aiHuents, most of which are navigable to a considerable distance. 
The Illinois River is the largest and most important of these minor streams. 
It flows through an extremely fertile country, and a canal, 100 miles in 
length, connects it with Lake Michigan. The Minnesota, Chippeway, Wis- 
consin, Iowa, Des Moines, St. Francis, and Yazoo Rivers, are all important. 

Lakes. — There are many lakes in Minnesota and Wisconsin which contri- 
bute their waters to the Mississippi, to the St. Lawrence Basin, or to Hudson's 
Bay. These lakes, the largest of which is the Lake of the Woods, are beau- 
tiful sheets of water, from one to forty miles in extent. They have pebbly 
bottoms, and are well stocked with the finest fish. Lake Pontchartrain, 
in Louisiana, is a shallow body of salt water, and a branch of the Gulf of 
Mexico. 

IX. Texas Slope. — The largest rivers of this system are the 
Rio Grande, Nueces, San Antonio, Guadalupe, Colorado, Brazos, 
Trinity, Neches, and Sabine. 

Most of these rivers are navigable ; the extent of the navigation depending 
upon the season of the year, and upon local obstructions. Small steamers 
are generally able to ascend to the distance of from 50 to 450 miles. The 
removal of a raft in the Colorado River, near its mouth, would give access 
to a large extent of country. 

X. Pacific Slope. — The Columbia, Colorado, and the Sacra- 
mento Rivers, are the largest of this system. 

The Basin of the Columbia is of great extent; yet it lies chiefly within a 
rugged and sterile region of mountains and highlands, where the rivers flow 
through narrow gorges, and over many falls and rapids. In some cases, the 
rivers flow through such deep clefts, that their beds are inaccessible to man 
or beast. The passage of the Columbia River through the Cascade Moun- 
tains, known as the " Cascades," is a scene of great beauty and grandeur. 

The western section of this basin is drained by the Columbia, with its 
tributai-y, the Willamette, and by two small rivers, the Umpqua and Rogue, 
which flow directly into the Pacific. The mouth of the Columbia is somewhat 
obstructed by a sand-bar; but vessels of 200 or 300 tons burden can ascend 
the river to the Cascade range, a distance of about 140 miles. Beyond this 
point, no continuous navigation is possible, except for small boats. The 
Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue Rivers, are navigable to a short distance 
by sea-vessels. 

The Colorado, with its principal tributary, the Gila, flows through a 
barren and desolate region ; and, though of great length, is of little com- 
mercial importance. The Sacramento, with its principal tributarj'^, the San 
Joaquin, and many smaller afiluents, drains one of the richest countries in 
the world. The Sacramento and many of its tributaries are navigable for 
steamboats far into the interior. 

XI. Utah Basin. — This singular country has a system of lakes 
and rivers of its own, having no connection with the ocean. 
Great Salt Lake is 70 miles long, and 30 miles wide. Its waters 
are so salt that no living thing can exist in them. Utah Lake, 
a body of fresh water, communicates with it by the River Jordan. 
Humboldt River flows into Humboldt Lake, and forms part of 
the route for emigrants to California. 

XII. The Red River of the North rises in Elbow Lake, in Min- 
nesota, and empties into Lake Winnipeg. In the first 100 miles 
of its course, it forms the line of connection between a multitude 
of small lakes, which seem to be disposed along this stream like 
beads upon a thread. 

Name the principal rivers of the Texas Slope. — Name the three principal ones of 
the Pacific Slope. — Does the Columbia River drain a fertile or sterile region of 
country? — Which docs the Willamette? —The Colorado? — Into what does the Willa- 
mette flow?— Is the Sacramento an important river? — Why? — What is the peculiarity 
of the rivers of the Utah Basin ? — Describe the Red River of the North. 



XIII. Recapitulation. — The United States strikingly exhibit 
the efiect of rivers upon the prosperity of a country. By their 
fertilizing power, and the means which they afford to commerce 
and manufactures, they sustain and promote the great branches 
of industry ; and no considerable extent of country can prosper 
without them. By avoiding the occasional obstructions, our river- 
steamers (drawing sometimes only nine inches of water,) pene- 
trate to almost every habitable part of the country, thousands of 
miles from the ocean. 

The water-power of our rivers is not confined to the sites of 
the great manufacturing towns, but is found in almost every part 
of the Union. It will be observed that many of our largest 
cities are upon rivers, either at the mouth, or at the head of 
navigation — these two points being the natural centres of trade. 
The deficiency of forests in the Missouri Basin, permits rapid 
evaporation, and is one of the chief causes of the shallowness of 
this river and its tributaries in summer. The clearing of the 
wood-lands from the basin of the Ohio River is thought, also, to 
have diminished the volume of that river, and, in consequence, 
its navigability. 



CHAPTER V. 
CLIMATE, RAINFALL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 

I. The entire territory of the United States is comprised 
within three zones of climate, namely : the Hot, Warm, and 
Temperate. 

II. The Hot Zone includes that part of the United States 
which lies south of the Isotherm of 70°. It comprises nearly 
all of the Peninsula of Florida, and a small part of Louisiana, 
Texas, New Mexico, and California. 

The climate of this zone is remarkable for its uniformity. The mean 
annual temperature of eighteen diiferent places, as deduced from many 
years' observation, reported in the Army Meteorological Register, is 72°"44. 
The mean summer temperature of the same places is 82°'73 ; and that of 
the winter, 60°'31. The mean annual temperature of Key West, in Florida, 
deduced from 14 years' observation, is 76°'51 ; that of the summer, 82°'51 ; 
of the winter, 69°'53. The mean annual temperature of New Orleans for 
20 years is 69°-86 ; of the summer, 82°-27; of the winter, 56°-53. 

Most of the productions of tropical countries may be successfully grown 
in this zone ; and the sugar-cane, orange, and banana, are cultivated to a 
considerable extent. 

III. The Warm Zone embraces the country between the Iso- 
thermal lines of 70° and 60°. A reference to the map will show 
the narrowness of this zone across the sterile regions of the 
Texas and Pacific Slopes, and the remarkable northward curve 
of its northern boundary near the Pacific, by which it includes 
the fertile valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin. 

State some of the uses of rivers, and their effect upon the prosperity of a country. — 
Within what zones of climate is the territory of the United States comprised? — What 
part of it is in the Hot Zone? — For what is the climate of this zone remarkable? — 
Name some of its productions. — What portion of the United States is included in the 
Warm Zone? — In what part of the country is this zone narrowest? 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 



85 



The difference between the oceanic anJ continental climate is shown by 
a compaiison between the temperature of various places in this zimc, upon 
or near the coast, and of those situated in the interior. The mean annual 
temperature of two stations near the Pacific coast is G0°-95 ; of five stations 
near the Atlantic coast, G5°-10: and of ten stations in the interior, 03°-4C!. 
The mean summer temperature of the same places rpspectively is 7'2°-0r), 
80°-0-l, and 80°-ll ; the mean winter temperature, 49° '.O, 52°-05, and 45°-G0. 
It will thus be seen that the climate of the interior is considerably warmer 
in summer and colder in winter than that of the coasts. 

The suj^ar-oane is cultivated in the southern part of this zone; and ne.-irly 
all the rice and cotton produced in the United States is raised here. 

IV. Tlie whole country north of the Isothermal lino of 60° is 
included in the Temperate Zone. From the Atlantic Ocean to 
about the 97th meridian, the temperature decreases quite regu- 
larly towards the north ; the isothermal lines corresponding very 
nearly with the parallels of latitude. From the 97th meridian 
westward to the Pacific, as will be seen by an examination of the 
map, the isothermal lines diverge widely from the parallels of 
latitude, rising much higher on the Pacific than on the Atlantic 
coast. 

This section furnishes many striking examples of the effects pro- 
duced upim the temperature of a place, by its elevation, and its exposure to 
■w-inds and currents. Thus the mean annual temperature of Foit Steilacoom, 
on Puget's Sound, Lat. 47° 10', is 50°-82 ; that of Santa F6, Lat. 35° 41', at 
an elevation of 6840 feet, !J0°-59 ; and that of Fort Laramie, Lat. 42° 10', at 
an elevation of 4519 feet, is 50°-0G. 

Thus, it appears that Fort Steilacoom, owing to the warm south-west winds 
from the Pacific, and to the influence of the Japan Current, has a somewhat 
higher mean annual temperature than Santa F6, 800 miles further to the 
south. 

Contrasting the climate of the Pacific coast with that of the Atlantic and 
the interior, it will be found that the former is more uniform, and also that 
it varies much loss with the latitude. This will be seen by an examination 
of the annexed table: — 

Temperature. 



Pacific Coast. I 

Mcmterey 36° 36' 



San Francisco 

Astoria 

Interior. 

St. Louia Arsenal 

Chic.igo 

Fort kipley 

Atlantic Coast. 

F(jrt Monroe, near Norfolk... 

Fort Columbus. N. Y. Harbor 

Fort Sullivan, Eiistport ...... 



38° 40' 
41° 52' 
46° 19' 

.37° 

40° 42' 
44° 15' 



Spring Summer Autumn Winter Year. 



63°-99 
54°-41 
51°-16 

54°-15 
44°-90 
39°-33 



5S°-fi4 
57°-33 
61°-58 

76°-19 
67° -33 
64°-94 

76°-57 
72°10 
60°-50 



57°-29 
56°-83 
53°-76 

55°-44 
48°-85 
42°-91 

61°-68 
54°-55 
47°-52 



61°-22 
50°-86 
42°-43 

32°-27 
25°-90 
10°-01 

40°-45 
31°-38 
23°-90 



55°-29 
54°-88 
52°-23 

54°-51 
46°-75 
39°-30 

58°-89 
51°-6'J 
43°02 



V. The United States may be divided with reference to the 
fall of rain into three regions, namely: the Region of Periodical 
Rains, the Region of Frequent Rains, and the Region of Scanty 
Rains. 

VI. The region of Periodical Rains comprises the western 
division of the Pacific Slope. 

In that portion of this division south of the 40th parallel of latitude, 
scarcely any rain falls in summer, and very little in autumn. The quantity 
in winter somewhat exceeds that which falls during the spring. This 
appears from the annexed table: — 

Amount of Rain in Inches. 



From this table it will be perceived that Astoria, on the Pacific coast, and Fort 
Ripley, in the interior, are in about the same latitude. Astoria, though 050 
miles north of Monterey, is only three degrees colder. Fort llipley hjiflcen 
degrees colder than St. Louis, although it is only about 500 miles further 
north. 

San Francisco, St. Louis, and Fort Monroe, are in .about the same latitude. 
The difference between the mean summer and winter temperature of San 
Francisco is less than .wven degrees : of St. Louis, nearly y'orty-yoHr degrees ; 
and of Fort Monroe, ihiriij-six degrees, Eastport is two degrees south of 
Astoria, but is nine degrees colder. 

The various food-plants common to temperate regions — as wheat, Indian 
corn, rye, oats, barley, and potatoes — are produced in great abundance in 
the Temperate Zone of the United States. 

Give illustrations of the difference between the oceanic and continental climates. — 
Name some of the productions of the Warm Zone. — What is the extent of the Tem- 
perate Zone of the United States ? — How does the climate of the Pacific coast com- 
pare with that of the Atlantic ? — Of the interior ? — Give examples to illustrate your 
statement. — What are some of the productions of this Zone? 



San Diego 

Monterey 

San Francisco 

Benicia 

Sacramento — 



latitude 


Sprinir. 
2-74 


Summer 


Autumn 


Winier. 


Year. 


32° 42' 


0-55 


1-24 


5-90 


10-43 


36° 36' 


4-43 


0-21 


1-65 


5-91 


12-20 


37° 48' 


S81 


003 


3-37 


ll-:i8 


23-59 


38° 13' 


6-40 


001 


2-65 


7-56 


16-62 


38° 33' 


902 


0-00 


3-74 


8-56 


21-32 



A much greater quantity of rain falls upon that part of the division north 
of Lat. 40° than south of it; but, as in the southern division, the largest 
amount Ijelongs to the winter and spring. (See table.) 



Amount of Rain in Inches. 



FortOrford 

Fort Vancouver 
Fort Steilacoom 



Latitude. 


Spring. 


Summer 


Autumn 


Winter. 


42° 44' 
45° 40' 
47° 10' 


1912 

9-28 

11-19 


3- 
8 23 

3-85 


19-60 
10-30 
15-20 


26-80 
19-69 
2151 



Year. 



68-52 
45-50 
61-75 



VII. The Region of Frequent Rains extends from the Atlantic 
coast westward to about the 100th meridian of longitude. This 
region, considered as a whole, is exceedingly well watered, the 
rain being quite equally distributed through the different seasons. 

From an examination of the table, it will appear that along the Atlantic 
Slope, as far south as Washington, very nearly the same annual quantity of 
rain falls ; and that it is very equally distributed throughout tlie year. In 
the Gulf States, and along the Atlantic Slope south of Washington, the 
annual amount of rain is much greater than in the other sections, and the 
summer rains are much more abundant than those of the winter. In the 
interior the annual quantity is less, and generally much less rain fills in 
winter than in the other seasons. 



Fall op Rain in Inches. 



Northern Atlantic Slope. 

Eastport 

Providence (average 23 years) 

Albany (average 20 years) 

New York 

Philadelphia (average 28 years) 

Baltimore 

Washington 

Southern Atlantic Slope, and 
(tclf States. 

Charleston 

Savannah (average 9 years) 

St. Augusline 

Key West , 

Pen sa cola 

New Orleans 

Baton Rouge 

Interior. 

Burlington, Vt. (average 18 years) 

Buffalo 

Pittsburg 

Detroit 

St. Louis 

Fort Snelling 

Fort Ripley 

Fort Leavenworth 

Fort Smith 



Spring. 


Summer 


Autumn 


Winter. 


Year. 


S-S8 


10-05 


9-85 


10-61 


39-39 
39-71 
40- 


11-55 


11-33 


10-30 


9-63 


42-23 
42-3 


11-13 


11-04 


10-52 


9-31 


42- 


10-45 


10-53 


10-15 


10-07 


41-20 


9-89 


17-45 


10-06 


7-52 


44-92 
49-43 


6-90 


10-54 


9-56 


5-80 


31-80 


8-:u 


16-59 


15-35 


7-37 


47-65 


1286 


18-69 


13-71 


11-72 


56-98 


11-29 


17-28 


9-62 


12-71 


50-90 


1508 


19-14 


12-48 


15-40 


62-10 
33-9 


8-50 


9-23 


13-54 


7-53 


38-80 


9-38 


9-87 


8-23 


7-48 


34-96 


8-51 


9-29 


7-41 


4-86 


30-07 


12-86 


1409 


8-71 


6-29 


41-95 


6-61 


10-92 


5-98 


1-92 


25-43 


6-31 


12-62 


8-42 


2-13 


29-48 


7-97 


12-24 


7-33 


2-75 


30-29 


12.48 


13-03 


9-93 


6-66 


42-10 



Into what reLcinns mny the United States be divided with respect to the fall of rain? 
— Whiit part of the country is emhraeed in the region of Periodical Rains ? — In what 
seasons of the year does rain fall here? — Give examples. — What part of the United 
States is enihrnced in the region of Frequent Rains? — In what part of this region does 
most rain fall? — In what part does least rain fall? — Give examples. 



86 



PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY. 



VIII. The Region of Scanty Rains embraces the country 
between about the 100th meridian of longitude and the Cascade 
and Sierra Nevada Mountains. It includes the northern and 
southern divisions of the Pacific Slope, the Inland Basin of Utah, 
the Table-lands of the Texas Slope, and the sterile region east 
of the Rocky Mountains. 

Among the mountains of this region a considerable quantity of rain falls, 
and violent showers are experienced in all seasons of the year. Some of the 
mountain valleys are also well watered. Thus the annual fall of rain at 
Santa F6, situated on a plateau enclosed by mountains, is 19'83 inches ; and 
the fall at Fort Massachusetts, which is situated in a valley 100 miles fur- 
ther north, is 20-54 inches. 

The annual fall of rain in the desert region, through which the Great Colo- 
rado flows, is estimated at three inches ; that of the Inland Basin of Utah, at five 
inches; of the Great Plain, south of the Columbia River, ten inches; of the 
Llano Estacado, ten inches ; and of the sterile region east of the Rocky 
Mountains, from fifteen to twenty inches. In all these sections, scarcely 
any rain falls in summer. 

IX. The greatest amount of rain reported in the "Army 
Meteorological Register," for any given year, was the fall, in 
1846, at Baton Rouge, of 116*6 inches ; the least, a fall, in 1853, 
at Fort Yuma, California, of 1-78 inches. 



CHAPTER VI. 
MINERALOGY. 

I. The mineral productions of any country may be divided into 
a few great classes : as the precious stones, the precious metals, 
the ordinary metals and ores, the ordinary stones, coal, and salt. 

II. Few precious stones of value have been found in the 
United States. Diamonds are said to have been discovered in 
California; and one has been found in Rutherfoi'd County, North 
Carolina. Agates and cornelians are numerous along the banks 
of the Upper Mississippi, and the shores of Lake Superior. 

III. The precious metals are gold, silver, and platinum, all of 
which are found in the United States. 

Gold, in comparatively small quantities, has been obtained for many years 
from a region along the eastern base of the Alleghany Mountains, from 
Maryland to Alabama. It was first discovered in California in 1848, where 
the deposits are among the richest upon the globe. The entire product for 
the half century ending 1854, is stated in Lippinoott's Gazetteer at three 
hundred and seven millions of dollars, of which two hundred and ninety- 
eight millions were from California. 

Silver is found, in connection with copper, in the Lake Superior region, 
and also in California and other parts of the country. It is supposed to be 
most abundant in New Mexico. Platinum occurs in connection with gold in 
various quarters. 

IV. The principal ordinary metals and ores of the United 
States are iron, copper, lead, zinc, and quicksilver or mercury. 

Iron is the most important mineral, and it is widely diffused throughout 
the entire country. Nearly 600,000 tons of pig iron were made in 1850, 
(more than half of it in Pennsylvania) ; and it is estimated that the pro- 

What sections of the United States are included in the region of Scanty Rains. — 
State the greatest annual fall of rain recorded in the United States. — The least. — Into 
what classes may the mineral productions of nny country be divided? — What precious 
stones have been found in the United States ? — Which are the precious metals ? 



duct of the present year (1856,) is twice .as great. Vast quantities of iron 
ore of remarkable purity, forming entire mountains, have been discovered 
in Missouri, and in the mineral region south of Lake Superior. 

The copper regions of Lake Superior are the richest in the world. The 
product of this section for 1855, was nearly ten millions of pounds, the esti- 
mated value of which was more than one and a half million of dollars. A 
mass of pure native copper was discovered during this year weighing 250 
tons. Copper is also found in various other parts of the United States. 

Great quantities of lead are obtained from the mines of Illinois, Iowa, 
and Wisconsin. It is also found in Missouri, and in other States. Zinc is 
procured from the lead region of the Upper Mississippi, and is also found in 
Pennsylvania and New -Jersey. 

The only mines of quicksilver in the country are in California. The ore 
yields ten times more mineral than any which has yet been discovered else- 
where, and the production has already been sufficient to reduce its com- 
mercial value. 

V. Granite, marble, sand-stone, and lime-stone, are the prin- 
cipal ordinary or building-stones of this country. 

Granite is one of the most important articles of export from the New 
England States, and buildings constructed of this material may be found in 
all the principal places along the Atlantic coast, from Maine to Texas. 
Marble and sand-stone are abundant in various sections of the country. 
These are much used for the construction of buildings in the chief cities of 
the Atlantic slope: as New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Lime-stone 
is the principal building-stone of the Mississippi Valley. 

VI. The coal-beds of the United States are more extensive 
than those of any other part of the world. The coal is of two 
kinds, namely : anthracite and bituminous. 

The principal deposit of anthracite coal is between the Delaware and 
Susquehanna Rivers, in Pennsylvania. About six millions of tons were 
sent to market from this region in 1854. The quantity contained in this 
district may be considered as inexhaustible. 

There are three great bituminous coal regions. The Alleghany coal field 
extends from Pennsylvania to Alabama, and is estimated by Prof. Rogers 
to contain an area of 63,000 miles. The coal-field of Illinois and the Ohio 
Basin underlies the greater part of the State of Illinois, and a considerable 
portion of Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, and Iowa. A third immense coal- 
field stretches along the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains. Coal has 
also been found in the Pacific Slope, near Puget's Sound, and in Oregon. 
There are deposits in other parts of the country which would be considered 
large, were it not for the immense extent of those already described. 

VII. In Europe there are extensive mines of rock-salt, and 
this mineral is dug from the ground as coal is in this country. 
In the United States no such beds have been discovered, and all 
the salt produced is obtained by the evaporation of salt- water. 

Salt springs are numerous in various sections of the country. The richest 
are those at Syracuse, in New York. From four to five millions of bushels 
are manufactured here annually. Large quantities are also produced from 
the salt springs of Western Pennsylvania, from those of the Kanawha Valley 
in Virginia, from those of Kentucky, and of Southern Ohio. Salt springs 
are also numerous in Texas, New Mexico, and Utah. 

VIII. The Physical Geography of the United States exhibits 
the most extraordinary natural advantages. The mines are the 
richest in the world. The soil and climate are so excellent and 
so varied, that the productions of nearly every Zone are culti- 
vated with success, while but a comparatively small extent of 
territory is barren or unhealthy. The rivers and lakes, equally 
adapted to commerce or manufactures, promote every branch of 
industry, and render all the resources of the country available. 

What are the principal ordinary metals and ores ? — Describe the production of each. 
— Name the principal building-stones. — From what region is anthracite coal principally 
obtained? — Where is bituminous coal found? — How is salt obtained in the United 
States? — State some of the natural advantages of the United States. 



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SI 



MISCELLANEOUS UUESTIONS FOR REVIEW. 



A company of emigrants set out in the spring I'rom St. Louis for California, by 
the overland route : what kind of surface do they find as far as the base of the 
Rocky Mountains? — Along what river-valley will they be likely to travel? — If 
detained at the mouth of the Nebraska River till summer, where will they pro- 
bably first find difficulty in obtaining pasturage for their cattle? — What kind 
of surfice will they cross between the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada? 

In what part of California will they be likely to settle, if they wish to become 
gold miners? — Would they find the summers as hot here as in St. Louis? — 
Would they find the winters as cold ? — Would it be likely to rain much in the 
summer in this region ? — Would the summits of the mountains at any time be 
covered with snow? — What ferocious animal might be encountered among the 
mountains? 



One of the emigrants embarks for South America with a quantity of umbrellas 
for sale : will he be likely to find a good market at Lima ? — Being of an adven- 
turous turn, he resolves to cross the Andes, and descend the Amazon : what 
change in the temperature will he experience ascending the mountains? — Which 
way will the wind blow on the plains east of the mountains? — Will he find a 
wooded or an open country ? — Will there be pine forests along the bank of the 
river? — What fierce animal maybe encounter in these forests ? — What dangerous 
creature would make it hazardous for him to bathe in the river? 

Arriving at the mouth of the Rio Negro, he" determines to cross over to the 
Orinoco: can he go by water? — If so, through what river? — He leaves the Ori- 
noco, and proceeds by land to La Guayra, the port of Caraccas : what remarkable 
plains will he cross ? — He finds these plains covered with \'erdure : at what season 
of the year does he undertake the journey? — Do any mountains intercept his 
path to the sea? 

Setting sail from La Guayra for New Orleans, the ship is disabled in a hurri- 
cane : which way does it drift ? — Saved from the wreck, hff goes to New York, 
whence, in 1853, he embarks in Dr. Kane's Exploring Expedition: what new 
perils does he encounter? — What tribe of men does he meet in Greenland? — 
To what race do they belong? — He has met another variety of the same race 
while travelling in Europe : in what country was it? — AVhat animals does be see 
in Greenland? — What birds? — Does he find any vegetation ? — What does he 
ascertain about the open Polar Sea? 

j Returning to America, he settles as a farmer near Chicago, in Illinois, and 
I raises the products of the country : what are they? — Is the country in which he 
is settled generally a level or a hilly country ? 



Another of the company, disappointed with California, sets sail from San Fran- 
cisco to Canton : what winds favor his passage ? — Would they be favorable at all 
seasons of the year? — What race of men will he find in China? — AVhat are their 
physical characteristics? — Would he find any difficulty in making a straight 
course to the Sea of Aral ? — What mountains, plateaus, plains, deserts, and rivers, 
would he cross in making the journey ? — Within the limits of what race is his 
passage confined? 

He crosses the country, and the Gulf of Oman, to Muscat: what difficulties 
does he encounter? — Does he find Muscat as hot as Canton? — He embarks upon 
a European chip, but is wrecked on the coast of Zanguebar, in the wet season: 
what hazard does he encounter from the climate? — Does he find a civilized race 
inhabiting the country ? 



He arrives at Cape Town: does he find the city inhabited by the Negro race? 

■How does the temperature compare with that of Muscat? — Of Canton ? — He 

I embarks for St. Helena: is it a continental or pelagic island? — Of volcanic or 

coral formation ? — Are there any other islands near St. Helena? — He sails to 

Rio Janeiro : what winds aid his passage ? 

He wishes to ship a cargo of the productions of the country to Baltimore: 
what shall he purchase? — Trace his course to Baltimore, and tell what winds 
and currents would aid his passage. — He wishes to settle, and de:^ires to pur- 
chase an interest in a copper-mine: where would you advise him to go? 



•^ 



During what months is the sun north of the Equator? — Do they have the 
rainy season at the north, or at the south of the Equator, during those months? 
— Can you give, then, a general law for determining the season of places within 
the Tropics at any month in the year? — Do the monsoons disturb the regularity 
of this law? — Are the Llanos of the Orinoco dried up in the months which con- 
stitute our summer, or our winter? 

While it is summer with us, what season do they have in Rio Janeiro? — If 
you could make a steam-passage from Greenland to Buenos Ayres in one month, 
what changes of season would you experience in the month of November? — 
Which way does the wind blow at night on a tropical island? — Which way 
during the day ? 



What is the highest mountain in the world (see Table, page 91)? — What is the 
highest mountain in Asia? — In Europe? — Africa? — The Western Continent? — 
In North America? — In the United States? — Which is the highest peak of the 
Alleghany system ? — How high is it? — Which is the highest peak of the Alps? — 
The Pyrenees? — The Andes? — The Ural Mountains? 

Name six of those volcanoes which you have most frequently heard of? — 
Which is the most northern active volcano ? — Is there a volcano on the plains 
of the Amazon? — Of the Orinoco ? — In the Desert of Sahara? — What is the most 
destructive volcanic eruption that you can mention ? — Do volcanoes ever appear 
suddenly? — Mention six of the most recent? — By what force are they created? — 
Are they of any use to man, or are they only intended for purposes of destruction? 



Name the two greatest river-basins in the world. — In the Western Continent. 
— In the Eastern. — Do the same vessels which bring down the merchandize from 
St. Louis to New Orleans, convey it to New York or Europe? — Which is the 
shortest passage : from Cincinnati to New Orleans, or the return ? — At what times 
would the passage up the river be most difficult? — Do the lakes of the St. Law- 
rence Basin ever overflow their banks ? 

AVhich is the longest river in the world ? — The longest of the Atlantic system ? 
— The Pacific ? — The Arctic? — Which is the largest continental river? — Which 
s}'stem has the largest river-basins : the Atlantic, or the Pacific? — The Arctic, 
or the system of the Indian Ocean ? — Are there any continental rivers in Europe ? 
— In the United States? — To what sj'stem does the Orinoco belong? — The 
Orange? — Danube ?— Yang-tse-Kiang? — Hoang Ho? — Zambeze ?• — Colorado ? 
— Petchora? — Cambodia? — Columbia? — Volga? — Name the Grand Divisions in 
which these rivers are situated ? 



What races dwell in Africa? — America? — Europe? — Asia? — Australia? — To 
what race do the inhabitants of the Marquesas Islands belong ? — Of Greenland ? — 
Iceland ? — Madagascar? — If you wished to visit every part of the world in-which 
families of the Caucasian race exist, what countries must you seek ? — Are there 
any families of the Mongolians south of the Equator? — Is the Ethiopian race 
chiefly north or south of the Equator? 

To what race do the Sioux belong? — The Apaches? — The Brazilians? — The 
Hottentots ? — The Caffres ? — Gallas ? — Mandingoes ? — Papuans ?— Foulahs ?— 
Kalmucks? — Afghans? — Arabs? — Abyssinians? — Are all the families of the 
Caucasian race equally intelligent and enterprising? — Do the Europeans all 
belong to the Caucasian race ? 



What are the most important food-plants ? — Which of them grow chiefly in the 
Torrid Zone? — In the Temperate Zones? — In the Warm Zones? — Is coffee pro- 
duced within the Tropics? — Is tea? — Sugar? — Rice? — Maize? — The cocoa-nut? 
— Are Bananas? — Plantains? — Potatoes? — Is wheat a characteristic product of 
tropical countries? — Do grains grow well in Iceland?- — Greenland? — Are pine 
forests characteristic of the Torrid Zone? 

Which zone has generally the largest and most formidable animals?— -Which 
continent? — AVhat is the largest animal native to North America? — Are there 
any lions in Africa ? — Hindostan ? — Mongolia? — Are there any camels in Africa? 
— Asia? — Are camels native to Europe? — In which region do animals attain 
their greatest size and strength : the temperate, or the tropical? — In which does 
man reach the highest state of civilization? 



6 



Gv_ 



(88) 



_/G-' 



DO 



2 



^IDS 



d 



A. 

Ad-i-ron'-dack. 

Agulhas (Ak-gool'-i/as). 

Albino (Ai'be'-no). 

Al-le-gha'-ny. 

Altai {Af-ta'-i, or Ahl-ti'), "gold moun- 
tains." 

Amoo, orAmoa {Ah-moo') — called also 
the Osus, the Ji-hoon', and the 
Gihon {Je-hone'). 

Amoor (Ah-moor'). 

Amorgo (Ah-mor'-f/o). 

Anahuac (Ah-7ia-waJik'). 

Anatolia (Ah-na-to'-lia), "the East." 

Antilles (An-til-eea). 

Ap-pa-la'-chi-an. 

Ar'-ab. 

Ar'-a-go. 

Ar'-al, **island" — Sea of Aral, "Island 
sea." 

Archipelago (Ar-Ice-peV-a-go). 

Ar-e'-ca. 

Ar-kan'-sas. 

Artois (Ar'-ticaic). 

Atacama {Ak-tah-cah'-7na7i). 

Au-ro'-ra Bo-re-a'-Us: Latin — Aurora, 
"day-break"; Borealis, "northern." 

Auvergne {O-vaim'). 

Az'-of. 

Az'-ores. 

B. 

Bahia {BaJi-ce'-a), "bay." 

Balkan [Bal'-kan, or Bald-kahn'). 

Bar-ba'-does. 

Basalt {Ba-zoW), 

Baton Rouge {Bat'-un Roozh'), — "red 

stick." 
Beled-el-jerid { Be-led' -el-je-reed'), — 

" land of dates." 
Belor (Be-lor'), also called Be-loor' 

Tagk, or Bo-h>r' Tofjh. 
Benicia (Be-m'sk'-i-a). 
Ben Lo'-mond {Ben means "hill," or 

"mountain." 
Bergen (Bur'-ghen). 
Bermudas {Der-moo'-dm), 
Berne {Bum). 
Biscay {Bia'-kif). 
Blumenbach {Bho'-men-bahk). 
Bogota {Bo-gO'tah'). 
Bokhara {Bo-Jcah'-i-n). 
Bolan {Bo-lafi7t'). 
Bonin Sima {Bo-neen See'-ma). 
Bora {Bo' -rah). 
Bourbon {Boor' -hxin). 
Brah-ma-poo'-tra, "Son of the Creator." 
Brazil {Brah-ze^V). 
Buenos Ayres {Bo'-nna A'-n'z), — 
1 "good air." 



PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY. 



Cairo (ICi'-ro). 

Cam'-el-o-pard. 

Cam-er-oons'. 

Can-av'-er-al, 

Car-ac'-cas. 

Car-ib-be'-an. 

Car'-ib. 

Car-niv'-o-ra, "flesh-eating." 

Cassiquiare (Cah-see-kee-ah'-re). 

Cau-ca'-si-an. 

Cau'-ca-sus. 

Cau'-ver-y. 

Cayenne {JCi-eun'). 

Ce'-re-al. Applied to plants that pro- 
duce bread-corn. Derived from 
Ceres, the ancient fabled goddess 
of corn. 

Ce-ta'-ee-a. 

Cevennes [Sa-ven'). 

Cey-lon'. 

Charlemagne {Sharl-vmhu). 

Cheiroptera (Ki-rop'-ter-a). 

Cherrapongi ( Cher-a-poon-jec*). 

Chicago (She-katt'-go). 

Chihuahua (CH-waw'-tca). 

Chili (Chil'-le). 

Chim-bo-ra'-zo. 

Chim-pan'-zee. 

Cobi {Co' -be), — "sea of sand." 

Coch'-i-neal. 

Co'-chin Chi'-na. 

Coimbra {Co-eem'-hra), 

Colorado {Co-lo-rah''do). 

Cor-ri-en'-tes. 

Cosiguina (Co-Be-ghee'-na). 

Costa. Rica {Koa'-tah Ree'-ka), — "rich 
coast." 

Cotopaxi (Ko-to-pax' -ee). 

Cryp-tog'-a-mou8. 

Cumana {Koo-mah-nah'). 

Cuzco {Koo8-ko). 



Dahomey {Dah-ho-may'). 

Dant'-zio. 

Dar-da-nelles'. 

Dec'-can. 

Desaguadero (Dea-ah-gwa-da'-ro), — 

" the outlet." 
Dcs Moines (Se-moin'). 
Despoblado (Dea-po-blah'-do), — 

*' uninhabited." 
Dig-it-i-gra'-da, — from Latin, digitut, 

" toe," and gradna, "step." 
Disa Grandiflora (Deo'-za Gran-di- 

flo'-ra). 
Dwina {Dicee'-na). 



E. 

E-den-ta'-ta. 

Eider (I'-der). 

Ekaterinburg (E-kat-e-ri' -nen-hurg), — 

*' Catherine's town." 
Elbruz, or Elburz {El-brooz', or 

Et-boorz'). 
Endogenous (En-dnf-e-nous). 
Equador {Ek-wa-dore'). 
Esmeralda [Ea-mer-nM'-du). 
Eth-nog'-ra-phy. 
Eu-phra'-tes. 
Ex'-o-gens. 

F. 

Falkland {Fmck'lavd.) 

Fa'-roe. 

Fata Morgana (Fah'-ta Mor-gah'-na). 

Fingal (Fiiig-gawV) ; a district of Ire- 
land, which was formerly settled 
by Fins — whence the name. 

Fu-e'-gi-an. 

Fun'-gi. Latin plural o( fungiis — a 
mushroom ; a toadstool. 

G. 

Galapagos {GahU-pa-gos). 

Gallinacea {Gall-i-na'-she-a) 

Ganges {Gan'-Jez), — "flowing through 

the earth to Heaven." 
Gentian {Jen' -shun). 
Ghauts {Oaicta). 
Gila {Hee'-la), 
Glaciers {Glaa'-e-tra). 
Gneiss {Nice). 
Gral-la-to'-res. 
Great St. Ber-nard'. 
Grenelle {Gra-nel'). 
Guadalupe {Gwmo-da-loop'). 
Guanaxuato {Gwah-7iah-hira'-to). 
Guatemala {Gwak-ta-mah'-la). 
Guayaquil (Owi-ah-keel'), m 

Guiana {Ghee-ah' -na), 
Guinea {Ghin'-ee). 



Ilan-hai {Ilahi-hi'). Hai, hae, or Aciy, 
means "sea," in Chinese. 

Hec'-la. 

Hen-lo'-pen. 

Her- cu-la'-ne-um. 

Himalaya {Him-aM'-a). 

Hin-doo-stan'. 

Hip-po-pot'-a-mus. 

Hoang Ho {Whahng'-ho')j — "yellow 
river j" so named from the color 
which the clay banks give to its 
waters. 

Hy-drog'-ra-phy. 



"^ 



Ibarra {E-bar'-ra). 

Ignis Fatuus. Latin, — ignii, "fire," 

and/a?Ki(s, "foolish." 
Imbamburu ( Eem~bahm-boo' -roo). 
In-sect-iv'o-ra. 
I'-o-wa. 
Iran (E'-rahn). 
Irkoutsk (Ir-kootsk'). 
Ir-ra-wad'-dy, — " the great river." 
Irtysh (Eer'-lish). 
Isalco (E-aahl'-co). 
I-tas'-ca. 



Jag-u-ar'. 

Jalapa (Hah-lah'-pa). 

Jan May en ( Yan Mi'. en). 

Ja-pan'. 

Jap-an-ese'. 

JoruUo [Ho-rooV-yo). 

Ju'-ra. 

Jut'-land. 

K 

Knmtschatka {Kam-shat'-ka). 

Kanawha {Kan-aic' ~wah). 

Kan'-sas, — "smoky water." 

Ka-tah'-din. 

Khiva (A'ee'-fa). 

Kilimandjaro {Kil-e-rnrtht-jah-ro'). 

Kirghis {Keer-gheez'). 

Kuen LUn {Kwen-hott'). 

Kunchinginga {Koon-chiu-jivg'-gah). 

Kurile {Koo'-ril). 

Kuttenberg {Koo'-ten-herg). 



Lab' -ra- dor. 

La-drones'. Islands of the " ladrones," 
or tkievea — so named by Magellan, 
on account of the thievish disposi- 
tion of the natives. 

La-goon'. 

Lar'-a-mie. 

Lassa {Ilfalis'-sah), — "Land of the 
Divine Intelligence." 

Lava {Lah'-va). 

Lianos {Le-ah'-nos). 

Lich'-en. 

Lima [Lec'-mah). 

Lipari {Lee-pah' -re). 

Llama {Lah'-ma). 

Llano Estacado {Le-ah'-no Ea-tah-cah'- 
do), — "staked plain." 

Llanos {Le-ah'-nos). 

Louisville {Loo'-is-vH). 

Lupata {Loo'pah' -tah). 



6 



SQ^ 



23 



(89) 



-SB% 



mGl 



^ 



90 



PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY. 



M. 



Mack'-i-naw. 

Madeira {Ma-dee'-ra). Derived from 

the magnificent forests with which 

these islands were formerly covered 

— the Portuguese word Madera 

signifying " timber.'* 
Mad'-rid. 

Maelstrom {Male' -strum), 'mill-stream.' 
Mag-da-le'-na. 
Magellan (Ma-Jel'-an). 
Magyar {Mah'-yar)* 
Mahabaleshwar, or Mahableshwur, 

{Mah'hah-hlesh-wur'). 
Mal-a-bar'. 

Mal'-dive, — " thousand isles." 
Mam-ma'-Ii-a. 
Ma-na'-tus. 
Man-tchoo'-ri-a. 
Maritime (Mar'-e-tim), — from Latin, 

mare, " the sea." 
Mar'-jo-ram. 
Mar'-mo-ra. 

Marquesas {3far-ka'-8aB). 
Mar-su-pi-a'-li-a, — from Latin, Marsii- 

piujyi, a " pouch." 
Mendocino {Men-do-eee' -no). 
Messina (Mes-see'-nak). 
Met-a-mor'-phic, — from a Greek word, 

signifying *' change." 
Me-te-or-o-log'-i-cal, 
Me-te-or-ol'-o-gy. 
Mirage (Me-razhe'). 
Mis-sis-sip'-pi, — "father of waters." 
Mol-lus'-cous. Latin, j^/o^/«8cus, "soft." 
Mo-luc'-ca. 
Mon-soon'. 

Monte Nuevo {Mon'-ta Noo-a'-vo). 
Monterey {Mon-te-ray'). 
Mon-te Kos'-si. 
Mont-mo-ren'-cy. 
Moscow (Mos'-Jco), 
Mozambique {Mo-zam-heek'). 
My-sore'. 

N. 

Nan-ling'. 

Nat-a-tor'-es, — from Latin, NatOy *'to 

swim." 
Natch'-ez. 
Ne-a-pol'-i-tan. 
Neches (Netch'-iz). 
Ner-bud'-dah. 
New' -found-land. 
New Gran-a'-da. 

Ne-va'-do de So-ra'-ta, — " snow-chid." 
Nic-a-ra'-gua. 
Niger (Ni'-Jer), 
Nueces {Noo-a'-ces). 
Nyoe (iVee-er'). 

0. 

O'-a-ses. PI. of Oasis. 

Obi (O'-be). 

O-des'-sa. 

O-hi'-o, — " the beautiful river." 

O-ke-cho'-bee. 

O'-ri-no'-co, — " coiled serpent." 



P. 

Pacha, or Pasha; and, as applied to 

Barbary, Bashaw (Pa-skaiv'). 
Pachydermata {Pak-i-der' -ma-ta). 
Pam'-pas, — " treeless plains." 
Pam'-pe-ros, — "violent winds which 

sweep over the Pampas." 
Pam'-li-co. 
Papua {Pap'-oo-a). Frizzled; from 

the enormous frizzled heads of 

hair of the natives. 
Paraguay {Par-a-grca'). 
Parime, or Parima (Pak-ree'-mah). 
Pas-sa'-ic. 
Peck-a-ga'-ma. 
Pelagic [Pe-Iaf-ic). From Latin, 

PelaguB, "the sea," 
Peling {Pa-ling'). 
Per-en'-ni-al, — " perpetual." 
Ph£e-nog'-a-mus. 
Phi-lol'-o-gy. The knowledge or study 

of the languages. 
Philippine {Fil'-i-pin). Named after 

Philip IL of Spain. 
Phos-pho-i"es'-cence. A feeble kind of 

light without heat. 
Phys'-i-cal. Relating to matter. 
Plan-ti-gra'-da. 
Plat'-i-num. 
Plu-ton'-ic. Relating to the regions of 

fire. Pluto was the fabled god of 

the infernal regions. 
Pompeii {Pom-pa' -ye). 
Pont-char-train'. 
Popayan {Po-pah-yahn'). 
Por'-to Bel'-lo, — "fine harbor." 
Porto Rico {Ree'-co)f — "rich harbor." 
Potosi {Po-to-8^e'). 
Prussia {Prrnh'-e-a). 
Ptarmigan {Tar'-mi-gan)t 
Ptolemy {Tol'-e-my). 
Pu'-get. 

Pustza {Pooz'-tzaJi), 
Pyr'-en-ees. 



a. 



Quad-ru-ma'-na. 
Quito {Kee'-to). 



Ra-pa'-C63. Latin, Rapax, " greedy." 

Rar'-i-fied. Rarified air is thin, in op- 
position to condensed air. 

Reaumur [Ro'-mer). 

Reitiavick {Ri'-ke-a-vik). 

Richelieu {Reesh'-el-yoo). 

Rio de la Plata {Ree'-o da lah Plak'-taJi) 
— "river of silver." 

Rio Grande {Rw Grand'). 

Rio Janeiro. Commonly pronounced 
Ri'-o Ja-nee'-ro, "January River." 

Rio Negro {Ree'-o Ne'-gro), — "Black 
River." 

Russia {Rush'-e-a). 

Ruth'-er-ford. 



Sa-bine'. 

Sabrina {Sah-hree' -nah). 
Sac-ra-men'-to. 
Sahara {Sali-hah'-rah), 
Saint Law'-rence. 
Saltillo (Sahl-teel'-yo). 
Sa'-mi-el. 

Samoiedes {Sam-oi'eedz'). 
San Diego {San De~a'-go). 
San Joaquin {San Ho-ah-lceen'), pro- 
nounced almost Waic-lceen. 
San Salvador {San Sal-va-dore'), — 

"Holy Saviour." 
Santa Barbara (Sau'-ta Bar'-har-a). 
Santa F6 {San'^ta Fa),—'' holy faith." 
Santorini {San-to-ree' -nee). 
Saxifrage {Sax'-e-fraje), 
Scan-so'-res. Latin, " to climb." 
Sco'-ri-a, (PI. Sco'-ri-se). Volcanic 

cinders. 
Senegal {Sen-e-gawV). 
Se-rin-ga-pa-tam'. 
Severo Vostochnoi {Sa-va'~ro Vos-toh'- 

noi). 
Shanghai {Shang-hi'). 
Si-be'-ri-a. 

Sierra Diavolo. Sierra {Se-er'-a,) is a 
Spanish word, signifying "saw;" 
and is applied to a mountain-ridge, 
because at a distance it often pre- 
sents a notched appearance. {Sier- 
ra De-ah' -vo-lo, "Devil's ridge.") 
Sierra Leone {Le-o'-na). 
Sierra Madre {Mah'-dra). 
Sierra Morena {Mo-ra'-nah). 
Sierra Nevada {Na-vah'-dah), — "snow- 
clad mountain -ridge." 
Si-lo'-am. 
Si-moom'. 
Si-roc'-co, 

Sirikol {See-ree-hoV), 
Sit'-ka. 
Snieuw Bergen {Snoio' Ber'-ghen), — 

" snow-mountains." 
Solano {So-lah'^no). 
St. Anthony {An'-to^ny). 
St. Ber-nard'. 
St. Croix (Croi). 
St. Gothard {Go-tard), 
St. HeUe'-na. 
St. Louis {Loo'-ib). 
St. Roque {Rohe). 
Steilacoom {Sti-la-coom'), 
Stellerine [Stel-hr-een'). 
Steppes {Steps). 

Stra'-ta. PI. of Stratum. Layers or 
beds of anything: as sand, gravel, 
or rocks. 
Stromboli {Strom' -ho-lee). 
Su-ma'-tra. 

Sumbawa {Soom-haw' -\Da). 
Sy'-phon. A bent tube used for draw- 
ing off water from casks. 
6yr'-i-a. 



"^S4 



T. 

Ta-co'-ra. 

Tahiti {Tah-hee'-tee). 

Tasmania {Taz-ma'-ne-a). Named in 
honor of Tasman, its discoverer. 

Tchad {Chad). 

Tehama {Ta-hah'-mah)f — "low land." 

Tehuantepec {Ta-wahn-ta-pec'). 

Teneriffe ( Ten-er-if). 

Terra, or Tierra del Fuego {Ter'-ra 
del Fu-e'-go), — "land of fire." 

Tequendama ( Ta-ken-dak'-mak). 

Thames {Temz). 

Thian Shan ( Te-ahn' Shahi'),—" Celes- 
tial Mountains." 

rhihei{ Tib' -et). 

TieTras Calientes {Te-er'-ras Cah-le-en'- 
tea), — "hot lands." 

Tierras Templadas ( Tem-plah'-daz), — 
" temperate lands." 

Tierras Frias {Free'-az), — "cold lands." 

Tolima { To-lee' -7nak). 

Torrecelli (Tor-re -eel' -lee). 

Tortugas ( Tor-too'-gaz), — " tortoises." 

Trin-i-dad'. 

Tripe de Roche {Treep de Roshe). 

Tristan d'Acunha (TriB-tahn' DaJt- 
coon' -yah. 

Ty-phoon'. 

u. 

Utah {U'-taio). 

Ural ( Yoo'-ral, or Oo-rahV). 

Uruguay ( Oo-roo-gwi). 

V. 

YaldB.! {VaU'-di), 

Valenciana ( Vah-len-se-ah'-naJt). 

Vancouver ( Van-coo'-ver). 

Venezuela ( Ven-e-zwe'-la). 

Ver'-te-bra-ted. 

Ve-su'-vi-us. 

Vindhya ( Viiid'-yah). 

w. 

Wabash ( Waio'-haah). 

Wah-satch'. 

Washita ( Wash'-e-taw). 

Winnipiseogec ( Wi7t-e-pe-eaw'-ke), — 
"beautiful lake among the high- 
lands." 

X. 

Xarayes {Hah-rV -ez), 

Y. 

Yakoutsk f Yah-lcootsk'). 
Yang-tse-Kiang ( Yahng-tse-Kee' -ahng) 

— "Son of the Sea." 
Ya-zoo'. 

Yenesei { Yen-e-aa'-e). 
Yu-ca-tan'. 
Yu'-ma. 

z. 

Zambeze (Zam-ha'-ze)., 
Zoological {Zo-o-loJ'-i'Cal). 
Zoology {Zo-ol'-o-jy). 
Zoophytes {Zo'-o-Jitcs). 



^ 



b 



m of>^ 



£Dk 



§ 



9 



APPENDIX. 






TABLE OF THE HEIfiHT OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAI, MOUNTAIN- 
PEAKS OF THE GLOBE. 



IB 



North America. 

Feet. 

Mount St. Elias, Russian America 17,860 

Popocatepetl, Mexico 17,717 

Mount Brown, Rocky Mountains 16,000 

Sierra Nevada, California 15,500 

Mount Hood, Ore£;on Territory 14,000 

Fremont's Peali, Rocky Mountains 13,470 

Long's Peak, " " 12,600 

Mount Mitchell, highest of the Blue Ridge, North Carolina 6470 

Mount Washington, White Mountains, New Hampshire 62.34 

Mount Tahawus, or Marcy, New York 5300 

SocTH America. 

Aconcagua, Chili 2.3,910 

Chimborazo, Equador 21,420 

Sorato, Bolivia 21,286 

Europe. 

Elbruz, the highest of the Caucasus Mountains, Russia 17,776 

Mont Blanc, highest of the Alps 15,668 

Mount Maladetta, highest of the Pyrenees 11,436 

Mount Scardus, highest of the Balkan Mountains, Turkey 10,000 

Konjakofski-Kamen, Ural Mountains 5397 

Ben Nevis, highest of the Grampian Mountains, Scotland 4368 

Snowdon, highest mountain in Wales 3571 

Asia. 

Kunchinginga, Himalaya Mountains 28,176 

Dhawalaghiri, " " 28,000 

Hindoo Koo, or Koosh, Cabul 20,000 

Mount Ararat, Turkey in Asia 17,210 

Mount Lebanon, Syria, Jeb-el-Makmel 12,000 

Mount Olympus, Turkey in Asia 9100 

Mount Sinai, Arabia 7497 

Africa. 

Mount Kilimandjaro 20.000? 

Mount Kenia 20,000 ? 

Abl)a Yared, Abyssinia , 15,200 

Piton des Neiges, Islo of Bourbon 12,500 

Mount Miltsin, highest of the Atlas, Morocco 11,400 

Snowy Mountains. Cape Colony 10,000 

Peak of Pico, Azores 7613 

OCEANICA. 

Mount Ophir, Sumatra 13,842 

Semero Mountain. Island of Java 13,000 

Mount Orohena, Society Islands 8500 

Mount Kosciusko, New South Wales 6500 

Mount Humboldt, Tasmania 5520 



Height, in feet. Date of last eruption. 



TABLE SHOWING THE LOCATION, ELEVATION, AND DATE OF THE 
LAST ERUPTION OF SEVERAL ACTIVE VOLCANOES. 
Name of Volcano. Location. 

Aconcagua. Chili. 23,910 

Gualatieri. Bolivia. 22,000 

Arequipa. Peru. 20,320 

Antisani. Equador. 19,137 

Cotopaxi. Equador. 18,875 

Tolima. New Granada. 18,020 

Popocatepetl. Mexico. 17,717 

Pichiocha. Equador. 15,924 

Dem.avend. AVestern Asia. 14,695 

St. Helen's. United States. 13,300 

Mauna Loa. Sandwich Islands. 13,120 

Erebus. Antarctic Land. 12,400 

Teneriffe. Canary Islands. 12,182 

Etn.i. Sicily. 10,874 

Tomboro. Island of .Sumbawa. 7600 

Jan Mayen. Island of Jan Mayen. 6874 

Morne Garou. Island of St. Vincent's. 5007 

Jorullo. Mexico. 4265 

Vesuvius. Naples, (Italy). 3948 

Galung Gung. Java. 

Pechan. Central Asia. 



9v_ 




TABLE SHOWING THE AREA OP THE BASINS, AND THE LENGTH 
OF THE PRINCIPAL RIVERS UPON THE GLOBE.* 



Arctic System. 

Obi 

Yenesei 

Lena 

Kolyma 

Dwina 

Petchora 

Mackenzie's 

Back's 



Area of Basin. 



1 



I 



Atlantic System. 

Nile 

Niger 

Senegal 
Orange 
Gambia 
Coanza 
Rio Grande J 

Danube 

Dnieper 

Don 

Rhine 

Elbe 

Rhone 

Amazon 

Mississippi 

Rio de La Plata . 

Nelson's 

St. Lawrence 

Tocantins 

Orinoco 

San Francisco .... 
Rio Grande 



Pacific System. 

Amour 

Yang-tse-Kiang 

Hoang Ho 

Cambodia 

Columbia 

Colorado 



System of the Indian Ocean. 

Ganges (includingthe Basin of the Brah- 
mapootra) 

Irrawaddy 

Indus 

Euphrates 

Godavery 

Zambeze 



Continental Rivers 

Volga 

Sihon 

Amoo, or O.xus 

Ural 



530,000 2800 

317,200? 1400? 

258,000 1650 

110,000 650? 

The area is given in English square miles, and the length in statute miles. 



1,233,000 

1,045,000 

792,500 

143,000 

142,000 

65,000 

588,800 

45,000 



700,000? 
600,000? 



1,000,000? 



273,000 

226,240 

196,500 

66,160 

49,000 

33,000 

2,016,000 

1,300,000 

1,182,000 

480,000 

396,800 

388,000 

336,000 

249,600 

240,000 



777,200 
730,400 
716,500 
270,000 
340,000 
225,000 



576,640 

441,600 

416,000? 

261,000 

123,750 

250,000 



Length. 



2700 
3250 
2800 

930 
1000 

700 
2.500 

600 



2500? 

2600? 

1 

? 

? 

? 

? 

1750 

1260 

1120 

700 

800 

650 

3600 

4100 

2240 

2000 

2100 

1300 

1600 

1650 

2150 



2800 
3300 
2700 
2000 
1200 
1100 



1960 

2600? 

2300? 

1750 
900 
800? 



Authority. 



Johnston. 



J. H.Young 



Ansted. 



Johnston. 



Johnston. 
J. H. Younf 
Johnston. 



Johnston. 
It 

J.H.Young. 

Johnston. 
(( 

a 
li 

Ansted. 

Johnston. 



TABLE SHOWING THE AREA, AVERAGE DEPTH, AND ELEVATION 
OF THE PRINCIPAL LAKES ON THE GLOBE. 



Caspian Sea 

Sea of Aral 

Dead Sea 

Lake Baikal , 

Lake Sir-i-kol ... 
Lake Superior .. 
Lake Michigan .. 

Lake Huron 

Lake Erie 

Lake Ontario ..... 
Lake Nicaragua 
Lake Titicaca ... 
Great Salt Lake 



Area in 


Average 


Square 


Depth 


Miles. 


in feet. 


145,000 


250 


30,000 


100 


300 


200 


14,000 




31,500 


900 


23,150 


1000 


23,100 


1000 


7800 


120 


6900 


500 


4000 


40 


4000 




1875 





Elevation of 
surface ab. level 
of the sea. in feet. 



36 

1535 

15,630 

627 

595 

595 

565 

231 

128 

12,795 

4200 



Depression of 
surface bel level 
of the sea, in feet, 



83-4 
1312 



(91) 



./a 







APPENDIX. 






TABLE SHOWING THE LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE, THE ELEVA- 
TION ABOVE THE LEVEL OF THE SEA, THE MEAN ANNUAL 
TEMPERATURE, AND THE AVERAGE ANNUAL FALL 
OF RAIN AT VARIOUS PLACES IN THE 
UNITED STATES. 

[This valuable Table is compiled from the " Army Meteorological Register," 
and presents the result of all the records, in the Army Medical Bureau, 
for 33 years, from 1822 to the close of 1854.] 

■3.H 

3 „ 

a R 

:I.S 



Name of Place of Observation. 

Fort Kent, Maine 

Fort Fairfield, Maine 

Hancock Barracks, Maine 

Fort Sullivan, Eastport, Maine 

Fort Preble, Portland, Maine 

Fort Constitution, Portsmouth, N. H. ... 
Fort Independence, Boston Harb., Mass. 

Watertown Arsenal, Mass 

Fort Adams, Rhode Island 

Fort Wolcott, Newport Harbor, R. I. ... 

Fort Trumbull, New London, Conn 

Fort Columbus, N.T. Harbor 

Fort Hamilton, N. Y. Harbor 

West Point, New York 

Wiitervliet Arsenal, New York 

Plattsburg Barracks, NewY'ork 

Sackett's Harbor, New York 

Fort Ontario, New York 

Fort Niagara, New York 

Buffalo Barracks, New York 

Alleghany Arsen.il, Pittsburg, Pa 

Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, Pa 

Fort Mifflin, Pa 

Fort Delaware, Del 

Fort McHenry, Md 

Fort Severn, Md 

Washington City, D. C 

Fort Washington, Md 

Bellona Arsenal, Richmond, Va 

Fort Monroe, Va 

Fort Macon, N. C 

Fort Johnston, N. C 

Augusta Arsenal, Ga 

Fort Moultrie, Charleston, S. C 

Oglethorpe Barracks, Ga 

Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Fla 

Fort Shannon, Pilatka, East Fla 

New Smyrna, East Fla 

Fort Pierce, East Fla 

Fort Dallas, East Fla 

Key West, Fla 

Fort Myers, South Fla 

Fort Brooke, Tampa Bay, Fla 

Fort Meade, Fla 

Fort Micanopy, Fla 

Fort King, Fla 

Cedar Keys, Fla 

Fort Fiinning, Fla 

Fort Barrancas, Pensacola, Fla 

Fort Morgan, Ala 

Mt. Vernon Arsenal, Ala 

Fort Pike, La 

Fort Wood, La 

New Orleans, La 

Baton Rouge, La 

Fort Jessup, L.a 

Fort Towson, Ind. Ter 

Fort Washita, Ind. Ter 



2CB 



47° 15' 
46 46 
46 07 
44 54 
43 39 

43 04 
42 20 
41 21 
41 29 
41 30 

41 21 
40 42 
40 37 
4123 

42 43 

44 41 

43 57 
43 20 
43 IS 
42 53 
40 32 
40 12 
39 53 
39 35 
39 IT 
38 58 
38 53 
38 43 
37 20 
37 

34 41 
34 

33 28 
32 45 
32 05 
29 48 
29 34 
28 54 

27 30 

25 55 
24 32 

26 38 
28 

28 01 

29 30 
29 10 
29 07 

29 35 

30 18 

30 14 

31 12 
30 10 
30 08 

29 57 

30 26 
3133 
34 
24 14 






68° 35' 
67 49 
67 49 
66 68 
70 20 

70 49 
71 

71 09 
71 20 

71 20 

72 06 
74 01 

74 02 
74 

73 43 
73 25 
76 15 

76 40 

79 08 
78 58 

80 02 

77 14 

75 13 

75 34 
71 35 

76 27 

77 02 
77 06 

77 25- 
76 IS 
76 40 

78 05 

81 53 

79 51 
81 07 
81 35 
81 48 
81 02 

80 20 

80 20 

81 48 

82 02 
82 28 
S2 
82 28 

82 10 

83 03 
S3 

87 27 
88 

88 02 

89 38 
89 51 
90 

91 78 
93 32 

95 33 

96 38 



< Q. 



575 
415 
620 

70 

20 

40 

50 

40 
20 
23 
23 
25 
167 
50? 
1S6 
262 
260 
260 
660 
704 
500 
20 
10 
36 
20 
50-90 
60 
120 
8 
20 
20 
600? 
25 
40 
25 
25 
20 
30 
20 
10 
50 
20 
80 
60? 
50 
35 
50 
20 
20 
200? 
10 
20 
10 
41 
80? 
300? 
645 



37°-04 
3S-11 
40-61 
43-02 
45-22 
45-81 
48-92 
47-34 
49-70 
60-72 
49-62 
51-69 
51-54 
60-73 
48-07 
44- 
46-38 
46-44 
47-91 
46-25 
50-86 
61-10 
63-85 
56-06 
64-36 
55-42 
56-14 
67-S7 
69-27 
58-89 
62-23 
65-68 
64-01 
66-58 
67-44 
69-61 
69-64 
69-17 
73-20 
74-76 
76-61 
75-04 
71-92 
71-48 
70-09 
70- 
69-60 
70-20 
68-74 
66-88 
66-84 
69-86 
69-25 
69-86 
68-14 
66-34 
61-69 
62-21 



36-46 

36-97 
39-39 
45-25 
35-57 
35-30 
4207 
52-46 

45-69 
42-23 
43-65 
64-16 
34-55 
33-39 
39-78 
30-88 
31-77 
38-SO 
34-96 
34-01 
46-27 

42. 
48-61 
41-20 
46-02 

50-89 

46-01 

23- 

44-92 

53-33 

31-80 

48-6S 

62-98 

47-65 
62-26 
56-47 
40-22 



48-50 

56-98 

63-50 
71-92 
60-63 
50-90 
62-10 
45-86 
61-08 
41-66 



Name of Place of Observation. 

Fort Smith, Ark 

Fort Gibson, Ind. Ter 

Fort Scott, Mo 

Jelferson Barracks, Mo 

St. Louis Arsenal, Mo 

Newport Barracks, Newport, Ky 

Detroit, Mich 

Fort Gratiot, Mich 

Fort Mackinac, Mich 

Fort Dearborn, Chicago, 111 

Fort Brady, Mich 

Fort Wilkins, Mich 

Fort Howard, Wis 

Fort Winnebago, Wis 

Fort Crawford, Wis 

Fort Armstrong, 111 

Fort Atkinson, Iowa 

Fort Des Moines, Iowa 

Fort Ripley, Minnesota 

Fort Snelling, Min 

Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 

Council Bluffs, Nebraska 

Fort Kearney, Nebraska 

Fort Laramie, Nebraska 

Fort Arbuckle, Ind. Ter 

Fort Belknap, Texas 

Fort Worth, Texas 

Phantom Hill, Texas 

Fort Chadbourne, Texas 

Fort Graham, Texas 

Fort Gates, Texas 

Fort Croghan, Texas 

San Antonio, Texas 

Fort Merrill, Texas 

Fort Ewell, Texas 

Corpus Christi, Texas 

Fort Brown, Texas 

Ringgold Barracks, Texas 

Fort Mcintosh, Texas 

Fort Duncan, ISagle Pass, Texas 

Fort Inge, Texas 

Fort Lincoln, Texas 

Fort Clark, Texas 

Fort Fillmore, New Mexico 

Fort Webster, New Mexico 

Fort Conrad, New Mexico 

Albuquerque, New Mexico 

CeboUeta and Laguna, New Mexico 

Santa Fe, New Mexico 

Ijas Vegas, New Mexico 

Fort Union, New Mexico 

Fort Massachusetts, New Mexico 

Fort Defiance, New Mexico 

Fort Yuma, California .,.,. 

San Diego, California 

Posts Del Chino and Jurupa, California 

Monterey, California 

Fort Miller, California 

San Francisco, California 

Benicia Barracks, California 

Sacramento, California 

Fort Reading. California 

Fort Humboldt, California 

Fort Jones, California 

Fort Orford, California 

Fort Vancouver, Oregon 

Fort Dalles, Oregon 

Fort Steilacoom, Washington Territory 

Astoria, Oregon 

Great Salt Lake, Ut.ah 



35° 23' 
34 47 

37 45 

38 28 

38 40 

39 05 
42 20 

42 55 
46 61 
41 52 

46 30 

47 30 
44 30 

43 31 

43 05 
41 30 
43 

41 32 
46 19 

44 53 

39 21 

41 30 

40 38 

42 12 
34 27 
33 08 
32 40 
32 30 
31 38 
31 56 

31 26 
30 40 
29 25 
28 17 
28 05 
27 47 

25 64 

26 23 

27 31 

28 42 

29 09 
29 22 
29 17 

32 13 

32 48 

33 34 
35 06 
35 03 
35 41 
35 35 
35 54 
37 32 

35 44 
32 43 
32 42 
34 

36 36 
37 

37 48 

38 03 
38 33 
40 30 

40 46 

41 36 

42 44 
46 40 

46 36 

47 10 
40 11 
40 46 




94° 29' 
95 10 
94 35 
90 15 
90 05 
84 29 
82 68 
82 23 
84 33 

87 35 
S4 43 
88 

88 05 

89 28 
91 

90 40 
92 

93 38 

94 19 

93 10 

94 44 

95 48 
98 57 

104 47 

97 09 

98 48 
97 25 

99 46 
100 40 

97 26 

97 49 

98 31 
98 26 
98 

98 57 
97 27 
97 26 

99 02 
99 21 

100.30 
99 07 
99 33 

100 25 

106 42 

108 04 

107 09 

106 38 

107 14 
106 02 
105 16 

104 67 

105 23 

109 16 
114 36 
117 14 
117 25 

121 52 

119 40 

122 26 
122 08 

121 20 

122 05 
124 09 
122 52 
124 29 
122 30 

120 65 

122 25 

123 48 
112 06 



460 
560 
1000? 
472 
460 
500 
580 
698 
728 
591 
600 
620 
620 
770? 
642 
628 
700? 
780 
1130 
820 
896 
1250 
2360 
4519 
lOOO? 
1600? 
1100? 
2300? 
2120 
900? 
1000? 
1000? 
600 
160? 
200 
20 
50 
200? 
400 
800 
845 
900? 
1000? 
3937 
6350 
4576 
5032 
6000 
6846 
6418 
6670 
8366 
7200? 
120 
150 
1000? 
140 
402 
150 
64 
50 
674 
50 
2570 
50 
50 
360 
300? 
50 
4361 



60°-02 
60-81 
54-50 
55-46 
54-51 
56-26 
47-25 
46-29 
40-65 
46-75 
40-37 
41- 
44-49 
44-80 
47-63 
50-31 
45-50 
49-74 
39-30 
44-54 
52-78 
49-28 
47-67 
50-06 
60-83 
63-99 
63-54 
63-73 
62-38 
65-76 
66-12 
66-74 
69-25 
71-37 
71-30 
70-95 
73-75 
74-21 
73-24 
70-86 
67-69 
68-03 
67-04 
63-98 
54-84 
59-40 
56-32 
55-12 
50-59 
49-14 
49-14 
49-11 
46-92 
73-62 
62- 
63-28 
55-29 
66- 
64-8S 
68-29 
59-89 
62-09 
62-80 
51-40 
53-62 
52-65 
52-79 
60-82 
62-23 
53-24 



42-10 
36-46| 
42-12 
37-83 
41-95 

30-07 
32-62 
23-87 

31-35 

34-65 
27-49 
31-40 

39-74 
26-56 
29-48 
25-43 
30-29 

27-98 

19-98 

30-67 

22- 

40-86 

17-22 

31-88 

40-6S 

36-56 
33-77 



30-82 
33-65 
20-95 
lS-66 
22-20 
27-99 
20-58 
21-80 
9-28 
8-79 
6-76 
9-42 
12-05 
19-83 
19-24 
19-24 
20-54 
16-64 
3-24 
10-43 
13-77 
12-20 
24-51 
23-59 
16-62 
21-32 
29-02 
16-77 
16-77 
68-52 
45-50 
14-32 
51-75 



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